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WAKEF1ELD : 
PRINTED  FOR  THE  PARISH. 

1886. 


0    mhe      mi  Settled    Aawn 


WAKEFIELD: 
PRINTED  FOR  THE  PARISH. 

1886. 


Printed  by  GEO.  S.  DORR  at  the  PIONEER  Office, 

6) 

WOLFBORO1  JUNCTION,  (WAKEFIELDl  N.  u     - 


THE  MEMORIAL  OCCASION. 


At  a  parish  meeting  held  in  June,  some  three  months  be- 
fore the  event,  it  was  voted  to  celebrate  on  Tuesday  the 
twenty-second  day  of  September  next,  the  One  Hundredth 
Anniversary  of  the  Organization  of  the  First  Church  and  of 
the  Ordination  of  the  First  Settled  Town  Minister,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  from  the  church  and  congregation 
to  make  arrangements. 

Dea.  Satchell  Weeks,  Dea.  George  H.  Gage,  George  F. 
Piper,  grandson  of  the  first  minister,  secretary,  Rev.  Albert 
II.  Thompson,  corresponding  secretary;  also  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Yeaton,  Mrs.  Mary  P.  Paul,  Mrs.  Olive  E.  Brown.  Later, 
it  being  also  a  town  matter,  the  committee  was  enlarged  to 
embrace  many  others  belonging  to  the  early  families  of 
Waketield,  including  the  grand-daughter  of  the  first  deacon, 
Miss  Lucy  M.  Sawyer,  and  Miss  Harriette  Dow,  the  grand- 
daughter of  the  third  deacon,  Richard  Dow.  The  commit- 
tee made  necessary  arrangements,  inviting  former  pastors 
living,  who  reported  in  person  or  by  letter,  all  living  minis- 
ters who  have  gone  out  of  this  church,  ministers  of  the  sev- 
eral denominations  in  town  with  other  friends  of  Wakefield 
stock. 

The  day  was  a  day  of  beauty,  and  five  hundred  gathered 
to  pay  tribute  to  the  character  of  their  ancestors  and  to  praise 
the  God  of  their  fathers.  The  service  at  the  Meeting-house, 
and  at  the  Town  House,  where  a  bountiful  repast  was  served, 
was  evidently  satisfactory  to  all.  The  house  of  worship  was 
plain,  with  but  little  decoration,  and  the  spirit  of  the  fathers 


1066741 


was  prevalent.  The  Service  of  Song  was  participated  in  by 
the  Congregational  and  Episcopal  choirs  and  other  singers. 
The  program,  as  printed  on  following  pages,  was  essentially 
carried  out,  Hon.  John  W.  Sanborn  presiding.  Rev. 
George  O.  Jenness,  not  being  able  to  be  present,  the  Invoca- 
tion was  given  by  Rev.  Gardner  S.  Butler,  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  church  at  Union  Village,  in  Wakefield,  for- 
merly a  part  of  this  parish.  Rev.  William  Lloyd  Himes, 
the  Rector  of  the  Church  of  St.  .John  the  Baptist,  also  in 
Wakefield,  led  the  Responsive  Reading  of  the  Psalms  122 
and  148  :  1-16,  the  people  giving  the  responses  heartily. 
After  the  hymn  following  the  Historical  Address,  Hon.  Seth 
Low,  the  Mayor  of  Brooklyn,  the  great  grandson  of  Richard 
Dow,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  church,  gave  a  cordial  and 
capable  address. 

In  the  afternoon  the  services  were  in  charge  of  Pastor 
Thompson,  who  led  in  the  Responsive  Reading  of  23d  Psalm 
and  in  prayer.  The  addresses  were  informal  and  not  pre- 
served for  publication,  but  their  equivalents  are  placed  upon 
the  following  pages  for  our  satisfaction  and  for  their's  who 
shall  come  after  us.  A.  H.  T. 

Wakefield,  Dec.  1,  1885. 


l[tt#t 


AND  OF  THE 


linaiian     0J 


BY  A  COUNCIL  CALLED  BY  THE  TOWN. 


SEFTIEIMIBIEIR    SS,     1785. 


Minister  was 


PIPER. 


The  Members  of  the  Church  were 

SAMUEL  HAINBS,  SIMEON  DEAKBORN.  AVERT  HALL,  MAYHEW  CLARK,  RICHARD  Dow. 
with  the  wives  of  the  last  lour. 


The  Moderator  of  the  Town  Meeting  —  1785  —  SIMEON  DEARBORN. 
The  President  of  the  Day  —  1885  —  JOHN  W.  SANBORN. 


Corresponding  Secretary,  .....     ALBERT  H.  THOMPSON. 
VVaketleld.  September  22,  1886. 


•-,-,<• 


9.30  A.  M. 
A  Service  of  Songs  of  Olden  Time,        Freeman  D.  Pike,  Precentor. 

10.00  A.  M 

Address  of  Welcome  by  Hon.  John  W.  Sant>orn. 

Response  by  Hon.  Joshua  G.  Hall,  of  Dover. 

Invocation,  Rev.  G.  O.  Jenness,  Pastor,  1875-80. 

Responsive  Psalm  Reading — 122. 
Hymn,  "Coronation" 

Prayer,  Rev.  Snmner  Clark,  Pastor.  1872-75. 

Original  Hymn,  Rev.  D.  D.  Tappan,  Pastor,  1865-70. 

Tuno.— Missionary  Chant. 


God  of  the  Centuries !    Thy  truth 

Has  thro'  the  nges  kept  its  way, 
And  still  maintains  a  vigorous  youth, 

With  over  widening,  lustrous  sway. 
So,  too,  thy  church,  her  Guide  in  view, 

From  times  remote  has  kept  her  course. 
Dispensing  good  like  early  dew, 

Of  human  weal  a  failless  source. 
Thanks  be  to  him  Whose  precious  blood 


Redeemed  the  church  from  sin  and  woe ; 
Who  will  present  all  pure  to  God, 
Those  that  confess  him  here  below. 


This  hundredth  year  of  her  feirthday, 

This  little  flock  thy  care  would  own, 
And  grateful  homage  here  would  pay, 

As  thus  we  bow  before  the  throne. 
Though,  one  by  one.  our  numbers  cease 

For  higher  ministries  above. 
The  Savior  ne'er  withdraws  his  peace, 

His  gracious  guardianship  and  love. 
Whate'er  mutations  time  may  bring, 


What  foes,  what  perils  we  may  meet, 
The  joy  remains  that  Christ,  our  King, 
Will  be  our  friend  in  every  state. 

10.45  A.  M. 

Historical  Address,  Rev.  A.  II.  Thompson,  Pastor.  1880- 

Ilyini',  "1  love  thy  Church,  O  God." 

Poem,  Miss  Harriet  N.  Hohbs. 

Uoxology,  "Praiae  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow."' 

12.30  P.  M. 
Dinner  at  the  Town  Hall. 

2.00  P.  N. 

Informal  addresses  from  past  Pastors.  Ministers  of  the  town,  and  Letters,  with 
Addresses  from  Hon.  .1.  G.  Hall,  Hon.  Seth  Low,  Hon.  J.  W.  Sauborn,  and  ol.hor 
friends. 

"Auld  Luiijf  Syne"  will  be  suu_f  at  the  close. 


ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME. 


BY  HON.  JOHN  W.  SAXHORN. 


LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : 

We  have  met  here  to-day  on  a  very  interesting  occa- 
sion, to  celebrate  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  or- 
ganization of  the  first  Congregational  Church  in  Wakefield  ; 
and  to  me  has  been  assigned  the  pleasant  duty  of  presiding 
at  this  meeting.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  whatever  our  in- 
dividual opinions  upon  religious  questions,  or  religious  sub- 
jects, may  be,  we  are  all  agreed  on  one  point,  and  that  is, 
religious  organizations  are  necessary  for  the  good  order  and 
well-being  of  society  in  every  community  ;  and  that  we  all 
feel  interested  in  the  success  of  every  properly  organized 
and  well  conducted  religious  society,  and  therefore  feel  in- 
terested in  the  success  of  this  society.  One  hundred  years 
ago  to-day  this  Church  was  organized.  It  was  not  the 
Church  alone,  that  was  interested  on  that  occasion,  but  the 
whole  people  of  the  town  were  also  interested;  they  had, 
in  their  corporate  capacity,  held  meetings  and  elect- 
ed committees  at  various  times,  to  employ  a  Minister  of 
the  Gospel,  and  after  corresponding  with  several  candi- 
dates, they  made  arrangements  with  Eev.  Asa  Piper  to 
come  here  and  settle.  Accordingly,  on  the  22d  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 17iS ">,  he  was  ordained  by  a  Council  called  by  the 
town,  for  that  purpose,  as  the  town's  Minister;  they  having 
agreed  to  pay  him  a  fixed  salary ;  on  the  same  day  this 
Church  was  organized,  and  he  installed  as  its  pastor.  He 
was  thus  called  upon  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  dual  office — 


8 

minister  of  the  town,  and  pastor  of  the  church  ;  these  duties 
he  ably  and  faithfully  performed  for  twenty-five  long  years, 
when,  for  certain  considerations,  he  "absolved"  the  town 
from  all  liability  on  the  original  contract,  but  remained  pas- 
tor of  the  church  until  the  infirmities  of  age  compelled  him 
to  resign.  He  was  a  learned  man,  a  wise  counsellor,  and 
an  able  teacher ;  his  impress  was  firmly  fixed  upon  our  peo- 
ple, and  to  him  we  are,  in  a  great  degree,  indebted  for  our 
prosperity.  The  church  organization  has  been  kept  intact 
to  the  present  time,  and  under  its  influences,  and  other  good 
influences,  the  town  has  raised  a  people  that  for  ability  and 
integrity  has  compared  favorably  with  any  town  in  the 
State.  Many  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Waketield  have 
left  their  birthplace  to  become  citizens  of  other  towns  and 
other  states,  have  won  almost  enviable  reputations  there, 
have  held  important  positions  with  honor  to  themselves  and 
credit  to  their  native  town,  and  while  those  of  us  who  have 
remained  here  have  endeavored  to  keep  up  the  standard  long 
ago  established,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able,  we  have  also 
watched  them  with  a  parent's  care,  and  rejoiced  in  their  suc- 
cess, and  are  always  ready  to  bid  them  welcome  to  our  home. 
Some  of  them  are  here  to-day,  and  to  them  let  me  say,  I  bid 
you  welcome,  yea,  a  thrice  hearty  welcome.  And  now,  in 
behalf  of  the  committee  of  arrangements,  and  in  behalf  of 
this  church  and  society,  I  bid  all  present,  whether  residents 
or  non-residents,  native  or  foreign  born,  a  hearty  welcome, 
and  most  cordially  invite  you  to  join  in  commemorating  the 
event  we  have  met  to  celebrate,  and  I  trust,  for  the  purposes 
of  this  celebration,  we  shall  all  feel  we  are  members  of  one 
society  and  one  people. 

The  President  then    introduced   Hon.  Joshua  G.  Hall,   as 
one  of  Waketield's  honored  sons,  who  spoke  as  follows  : 

MR.  PRESIDENT  : 

I  am  asked  on  behalf  of  the  returning  Sons  and 
Daughters  of  this  now  ancient  Parish  and  Town  to  express 
their  appreciation  of  your  kindly  welcome  to  the  old  home. 
We  are  met  at  the  century  mile  stone  of  this  church.  Those 


of  us  who  from  time  to  time  have  gone  out  from  the  Town 
and  made  homes  elsewhere  and  those  who  have  steadfastly 
adhered  to  the  paternal  acres  and  maintained  the  civiliza- 
tion and  religion  planted  here  by  our  Fathers  meet  together 
to  show  our  respect  and  veneration  for  the  first  settlers  of 
this  hamlet  and  testify  our  deep  appreciation  of  their  life 
work  here  in  the  cause  of  civil  order  and  Christianity,  and 
I  assure  you  that  those  of  us  who  return  here  from  abroad 
to  take  part  in  this  joyous  occasion  reverence  the  Fathers 
as  deeply  and  appreciate  as  fully  the  grand  work  of  the 
first  generations  as  do  you  who  have  always  made  your 
home  within  the  limits  of  Wakefield.  You  could  not  have 
done  less  if  you  would  be  dutiful  and  reverent  children  than 
call  us  wanderers  in  to  this  feast  of  commemoration  that 
we  may  together  recount  the  sayings  and  doings  of  a  rever- 
ed ancestry  and  rehabilitate  so  far  as  we  may  by  tradition 
and  reminiscence  the  vanished  forms  of  the  Pastor  and  peo- 
ple of  a  hundred  years  ago. 

It  is  said  that  comparisons  are  odious,  and  we  must  ad- 
mit that  the  American  mind  is  given  to  boasting,  but  I 
think  we  have  a  right  to  say,  and  that  no  one  will  take  of- 
fence at  the  saying,  that  this  church  and  town  at  their  start 
were  made  up  of  more  than  common  good  stock.  I  think 
if  we  were  to  take  a  list  of  the  early  settlers  of  this  town 
both  men  and  women  and  recount  the  life  of  each  so  far  as 
it  has  come  down  to  us,  pretty  full  and  quite  complete  "in 
many  cases,  though  scanty  in  others,  it  would  appear  that 
the  older  settlements  in  the  lower  part  of  the  state — for  our 
Fathers  came  generally  from  Rockingham  County  and  the 
southerly  part  ot  Stratford — furnished  for  the  emigration 
hither  of  the  Hower  of  their  youth  and  of  the  strongest  and 
best  of  their  men  and  women  of  middle  life.  Of  the  set- 
tlers who  came  here  early  a  very  large  proportion  came  from 
families  of  prominence  and  high  standing  in  the  older  towns  of 
the  province.  Generally  they  were  well  abreast  of  the  times 
in  matters  of  education  and  no  Town  in  this  vicinity  could 
boast  among  its  citizens  so  many  men  of  liberal  culture  as 


10 

Wakefield  in  its  early  days.  The  men  of  a  century  ago 
who  founded  this  Town  and  this  church,  who  welcomed  the 
h'rst  Pastor  and  here  listened  to  his  ministrations  were  men 
of  force  and  strong  power  of  brain.  They  wrought  well  for 
the  church  and  the  state  and  the  impression  made  by  their 
earnest  lives  is  I  fancy  still  a  power  for  good  to  us.  And 
while  the  home  hive  has  well  maintained  its  place  in  the 
state  considering  the  changes  in  the  currents  of  business 
and  the  shifting  of  popular  centres,  the  swarms  that  have 
gone  out  from  time  to  time  have  done  their  part  in  shaping 
and  moulding  public  sentiment  about  them.  But  it  is  not 
my  province  on  this  occasion  to  recount  the  history  of  the 
hundred  years  past.  That  is  to  be  treated  of  in  formal  dis- 
course by  another.  The  occasion  is  a  notable  one.  We 
meet  where  the  centuries  divide.  We  come  to  gather 
glimpses  of  the  past  and  recount  the  virtues  of  the  Fathers 
and  Mothers  who  struggled  and  wrought  as  best  they  might 
for  their  posterity  and  have  passed  from  sight.  We  come 
to  take  counsel  of  their  shining  example  and  express  our 
devotion  -to  the  perpetuity  of  the  three  institutions  that 
were  uppermost  in  their  minds — The  Church,  The  School, 
The  Town.  The  same  bending  Heavens  are  above  us  and 
the  same  green  earth  is  at  our  feet  that  Minister  and  Peo- 
ple looked  out  on  a  hundred  years  ago,  but  changed,  chang- 
ed as  the  skill,  endurance,  persistence  and  Christian  faith  of 
a  hundred  years  of  New  England  life  only,  can  change  the 
face  of  the  earth.  May  the  memories  that  come  to  us  be 
pleasant  and  may  we  rejoice  that  we  see  this  day  of  com- 
memoration . 


Following  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Hall  came  Devotional  Ex- 
ercises as  indicated  by  the  program,  with  slight  variations 
as  to  those  taking  part,  mentioned  elsewhere,  after  which 
the  President  introduced  the  Rev.  A.  H.  Thompson  as  the 
Historian  of  the  day,  who  gave  the  following  : 


HISTORICAL  ADDRESS. 

REV.  ALBERT  H.  THOMPSON. 


OLD  FRIENDS  AND  NEW  FRIENDS  OF  ANCIENT  WAKEFIELD 
AND  MODERN  WAKEFIELD  : 

The  mantle  of  your  historian  for  this  day  might  have 
fallen  on  more  worthy  shoulders — on  some  son  of  Wakefield, 
though  he  might  blush  to  praise  his  ancestors — yet  I  cheer- 
fully submit,  as  one  proud  to  speak  as  an  adopted  son  of 
these  adopted  ancestors.  I  would  weave,  if  I  could,  a  ro- 
mance of  beauty  to  charm  you,  or  better,  I  would  thrill  you, 
not  with  dry  and  dull  statistics,  but  with  the  story  of  their 
virtues  and  valiant  deeds.  But  history  is  scant  and  I  must 
give  you  the  prose  of  the  records. 

There  is  an  old  adage,  "Great  oaks  from  little  acorns 
grow."  But  our  song  to-day  is  not  of  the  giant  oak,  but  of 
the  tiny  acorn,  planted  in  the  soil  of  good  old  Wakefield  one 
hundred  years  ago.  And,  because  the  church  has  reached 
that  age,  we  revere  the  memory  of  the  Infant  church  brought 
into  being  September  the  twenty-second,  1785.  Five  were 
the  men  and,  four  the  women — wives,  too,  of  the  four  men, 
and  the  fifth  wife  came  in  the  next  year.  Beautiful  is  this 
picture  of  these  Homes  consecrated  to  (rod  by  the  united 
love  to  God  of  both  the  partners. 

Could  any  church  have  a  better  start?  Could  a  commu- 
nity be  blessed  more  richly  than  in  a  church  made  up  of 
consecrated  homes?  Not  merely  a  body,  as  usual,  of  indi- 
vidual believers,  this  was  stronger — a  union  of  Christian 
homes,  a  combination  of  families  for  the  worship  and  ser- 
vice of  God.  The  patriarch  Abram  with  his  family  may 
have  been  at  one  time  the  church  of  God  on  earth.  If  on- 
ly one  godly  family  was  in  a  community,  that  would  be  the 
church.  These  husbands  and  wives  may  not  have  been  the 
only  Christians  in  Wakefield  on  that  clear  September  morn, 
1785,  but  they  are  the  heroes  of  our  song  : — Samuel  Haines, 


Avery  Hall,  Abigail  Hall,  Richard  Dow,  Mary  Dow,  Sim- 
eon Dearborn,  Martha  Dearborn,  May  hew  Clark,  Mary 
Clark.  Descendants  they  have,  who  may  well  praise  the 
God  of  their  fathers  who  gave  them  such  an  ancestry,  not 
descended  from  royal  blood,  but  princes  and  princesses  in 
in  the  everlasting  Kingdom. 

What  led  to  the  organization  of  this  church  at  this  time  ? 
We  answer, — they  tell  us  in  part,  and  we  know  two  facts 
that  would  be  likely  to  affect  their  action.  The  war  of  the 
Revolution  had  ended  four  years  before,  its  thunders  had 
died  away,  and  the  people  wTeve  settling  down  to  the  labors 
and  arts  of  peace,  to  build  up  the  young  nation  whose  liber- 
ty they  had  purchased  on  the  bloody  battle  field.  And  to 
this  end  the  Christian  church  would  add  its  great  influence. 
Again,  the  town  for  several  years  had  cared  for  its  own  re- 
ligious wrelfare  instead  of  allowing  private  individuals  so  to 
do,  as  now,  and  voted  each  year  to  have  preaching  four, 
six  or  eight  weeks  by  some  minister  designated  by  the  town, 
with  attempts  at  permanent  settlement  in  1779-80-82.  Now, 
increased  in  population  and  resources,  and  possibly,  more 
awake  to  the  religious  need,  the  people,  in  town  meeting  as- 
sembled, proposed  to  have  a  minister  the  year  round,  just 
as  much  as  a  selectman  or  pound  keeper,  and  to  keep  alive 
and  awake  the  religious  spirit,  as  wrell  as  to  keep  the  roads 
and  bridges  in  good  condition  that  society  may  have  a  safe 
journey. 

It  is  this  determined  effort  to  keep  alive  the  worship  and 
service  of  God  that  we  seek  to  commemorate.  Not  the  es- 
tablishing and  success  of  a  particular  rival  branch  of  God's 
church,  outstripping  all  other  branches  in  its  growth,  though 
we  rejoice  that  God  has  set  the  seal  of  his  approval  thereon 
by  making  that  infant  of  hours  the  Centenirian  of  to-day. 
It  was  not  the  effort  of  a  few  sectarians  to  establish  their 
sect,  nor  really  of  Christians  to  establish  Christianity.  It 
was  the  town,  made  up,  as  now,  of  saints  and  sinners,  aim- 
ing to  care  for  its  spiritual  as  well  as  material  welfare  ;  and 
very  likely  they  were  shrewd  enough  to  see  that  the  mate- 


13 

rial  prosperity  would  be  enhanced  by  the  spiritual. 

Eighteen  years  before,  the  winter  of  1767,  the  first  fami- 
ly wintered  in  town,  or  two  families  by  the  name  of  Gil- 
man,  father  and  son.  In  1769  the  number  had  increased 
to  eleven.  The  next  year  nineteen  more  made  thirty.  In 
1784,  our  date,  three  times  thirty.  In  1800,  five  times 
thirty.  The  first  death,  that  of  an  infant  child.  So  reads 
the  diary  of  the  first  minister.  The  first  child  who  lived, 
probably,  Dorothy  Quimby,  born  June  30,  1768,  who 
married  Nathaniel  Willey  of  Brookfield.  Also,  "1771, 
a  meeting  house  was  raised,  and  the  outside  nearly 
finished  when  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution  in  1775 
interupted  it."  This  was  the  first  and  only  town  meeting 
house,  erected  when  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  not 
large,  who  yet  wanted  a  place  in  which  to  meet  for  political 
and  religious  purposes,  and  was  finished  years  afterward. 
In  1820  succeeded  by  the  new  meeting  house,  so  called,  at 
Wakefield  Corner,  which  latter  was  used  for  religious  pur- 
poses below  and  educational  above,  while  the  Town  House 
for  perhaps  fifty  years  has  been  used  for  strictly  secular 
town  business. 

But  going  back  to  1774.  In  that  year  the  town  ceased 
to  be  called  East-town  and  was  incorporated  as  Wakefield, 
in  honor  of  whom  I  cannot  say,  but  in  the  reign  of  "George 
the  Third,  by  the  grace  of  God  of  Great  Britain,  France 
and  Ireland  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith",  etc.,  John  Went- 
worth,  Esq.,  Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  our 
Province,  and  of  our  Council — "all  white  pine  trees  reserved 
forever  for  the  use  of  our  royal  navy" — and  Capt.  David 
Copp  authorized  to  call  the  first  town  meeting  within  seven- 
ty days  from  date,  August  30,  1774.  Of  that  meeting  we 
have  no  record  at  hand.  The  earliest  accessible  record  is 
in  that  eventful  year  of  Concord  and  Lexington,  when  the 
colonies  began  the  struggle  to  free  themselves  from  the  yoke 
of  the  "tyrant".  Yet  our  early  settlers  did  not  forget  to  pray 
and  to  worship.  For  in  May,  1775,  the  town  met  (1)  "To 
see  if  the  town  will  vote  to  have  any  preaching  this  summer, 


14 

and  if  any,  what  method  they  will  take  to  hire  it.  (2)To  see 
what  method  the  town  will  take  with  those  men  that  inlisted 
as  minit-men.  (3)  To  hear  the  request  of  William  Blais- 
dell  relative  to  exchanging  more  or  all  of  the  school  lot  with 
said  Blaisdell.  Signed,  Simeon  Dearborn,  Noah  Kimball, 
Joseph  Maleham,  selectmen."  So  they  were  probably  cho- 
sen at  the  first  meeting.  At  the  second  town  meeting,  Ju- 
ly 1 7 ,  it  was  voted  "that  there  be  preaching;"  "that  there 
be  eight  Sabbaths  preaching  here  at  the  expense  of  the  town 
unless  the  proprietors  are  bound  by  charter  to  supply  this. 
Voted  that  Mr.  Henshaw  be  the  man.  Voted  that  Mr.  Jon- 
athan Gilman,  Simeon  Dearborn,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  John  Horn 
ba  a  committee  to  apply  to  Mr.  Henshaw,  or  some  other 
suitable  person,  if  he  cannot  be  had."  The  names  of  the 
proprietors  are  unknown  but  by  few.  Each  year  the  mili- 
tary and  religious  concerns  occupied  the  mind  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Wakefield  as  the  chief  concerns — to  supply  the  army 
with  soldiers  and  the  town  with  preaching.  These  are  the 
names  of  preachers  mentioned:  1775,  flenshaw ;  1776, 
Cbickering  or  Henshaw  and  Hall,  perhaps  Avery  Hall 
who  had  moved  in  from  Rochester  where  he  was  pastor  for 
nine  years  up  to  1775  ;  1777,  Mr.  Porter,  very  likely  later" 
the  distinguished  Dr.  Nathaniel  Porter,  born  in  Topstield, 
Mass.,  in  1745,  graduate  of  Harvard  college  in  1768,  ordain- 
ed at  New  Durham  to  the  Christian  ministry,  and  after  serv- 
ing the  church  at  Conway,  of  which  he  was  ordained  pastor 
some  ten  weeks  after  its  organization  in  1778,  Aug.  18,  for 
fifty  years,  he  died  in  1836,  at  the  great  age  of  91  ;  of  whom 
it  is  said,  "He  endured  great  privations  here  ;  he  worked 
by  day  and  wrote  his  sermons  by  the  light  of  pitch-wood  at 
night."  1778,  Rev.  Mr.  Dutch  and  Cummings  ;  1779,  Mr. 
Hc-iibbaw  again,  and  Mr.  Dutch  was  called  to  settle;  1780, 
Rev.  Josiah  Badcock,  60  voted  for  his  settlement,  15  against; 
1781,  Rev.  Mr.  Kendall ;  1782-83,  Rev.  Moses  Sweat,  who 
seems  to  have  got  a  hold  of  the  affections  of  many,  and  a 
mild  contest  took  place,  according  to  the  record,  whether 
or  not  he  should  be  the  permanent  supply.  Once  the  town 


15 

voted  to  have  no  Sweat  that   year.      The   next  they  voted 
yes,  but  he  declined.     The  reason  given  by  tradition  is  not 
given  by  the  uninspired  Town  Clerk,  and  I  will  not  give  it, 
only  advise  all  ministers  to  be  careful  in  their  horse  trades. 
He  seems  to  have  had  a  reputation  more    as  a   great  Greek 
and  Hebrew  scholar  to  whom  great   scholars    looked  as   an 
authority.     His  home,  as  pastor  for  many  years,  was  in  San- 
ford,  Me.,  where  he  died  in  1824  at  the  age    of  three  score 
and  ten.     In  the  year  1782  the  earnest  desire    for  constant 
religious  worship  showed  itself  in  the  call  for  all   the    legal 
voters  to  meet  at  the  Meeting   House    "for   the   purpose    of 
consulting  upon  our  religious  affairs,  and  to  come    into    and 
prosecute  such  measures  as  the  Town   shall  think  fit    when 
met,  in  order  to  have  the  Gospel  preached  among  us.      The 
matter  of  Religion,  with  the  means    appointed  for   the  pro- 
moting of  it,  are  so  important  that  we  shall  be  acquitted    of 
Blame,  yea,  commended  for  calling  the  Town    together  at 
this  busy   time,    and  desiring   all    concerned   to  attend  as 
above  mentioned.     Avery    Hall,    John  Wingate,    Mayhew 
Clark."     At  the  notified   meeting  Aug.   26,   Capt.    David 
Copp,  moderator,  it  was  voted  to  adjourn  one  week.      Then 
it  was  voted  "to  keep  Thursday,  12th  day  of  instant  Sep- 
tember, as  a  Day  of  Fasting  and  Prayer  for  Direction  in  the 
culling  and  settling  of  a  minister."     "Voted  also  to  invite  the 
Rev.  Messrs.  James  Pike,  Jeremy  Belknap,  Joseph  Haven, 
Isaac  Hasey,  Nehemiah  Ordway,  to  assist  and  advise  on  that 
occasion."     This  was   a  council  called  not   by  a  church    but 
by  the  town,  Esq.  Dearborn,    Capt.    D.    Copp    and    Avery 
Hall  to  be  a  committee  to  write  to  these  ministers.     No  per- 
manent minister  was    advised,    but  Esq.    Dearborn,    Capt. 
Copp,  Mr.   Nathaniel    Balch,   Mr.    Richard  Dow   and  Mr. 
Avery  Hall  were  chosen  to  hire   for  a   term  not   exceeding 
two  months.     Though  they  did  not  get  what  they  proposed, 
this  record  shows  the  spirit  of  our  ancestors  anxious    for  a 
"meeting".     In  1782  so  earnest  were  they  to  secure   perma- 
nent public  worship  that  a  Town  meeting  was   called   and  a 
Fast  Day  appointed,  as  we  have  seen.     This  shows  the  spir- 


16 

it  of  our  ancestors. 

Their  desires  were  at  last  gratified  in  1784.  In  the  spring 
of  that  year  it  was  voted  to  have  eight  Sabbaths  preaching, 
Capt.  Copp,  Ensign  Clark  and  Major  Palmer,  a  committee 
"to  apply  to  some  suitable  person  to  preach  with  us  on  pro- 
bation 4  Sabbaths  at  first."  In  the  August  meeting,  Lieut. 
Jonathan  Gilnian,  moderator,  "voted  to  hire  eight  Sabbaths 
preaching  in  Addition  to  what  was  voted  last  spring.  Sim- 
eon Dearborn,  Esq.,  Avery  Hall  and  Mr.  Richard  Dow  to 
be  a  new  committee  to  hire  a  candidate  on  Probation  at  Dis- 
cretion, and  meeting  dissolved."  November,  the  town  met 
and  voted  to  give  a  call  to  the  man  selected  by  this  commit- 
tee [at  Cambridge],  and  he  accepted.  This  ended  the 
yearly  supply.  I  have  given  the  names  of  the  successive 
ministers  who  served  the  town  only  a  few  weeks,  but  long 
enough  to  show  their  excellence  and  the  taste  of  the  people. 
And  judging  by  the  later  renown  of  Sweat  and  Porter,  that, 
even  in  their  younger  days  at  Wakefield  they  must  have 
shown  some  of  that  power  of  mind,  we  may  judge  that  all 
these  early  town  ministers  of  Wakefield  were  fully  up  to 
the  average  of  those  days.  Their  service  was  limited,  and 
we  pass  them  by  with  a  brief  notice,  which  they  surely  de- 
serve. They  we  re  the  Forerunners  of  the  Settled  Minister. 

A  new  era  dawns  upon  the  town,  when,  in  1784,  there  ap- 
pears in  Wakefield  a  young  minister,  twenty -seven  years 
old,  of  staunch  English  stock,  whose  great  grandfather  came 
from  Dartmouth,  in  England,  in  the  time  of  the  Revolution 
which  resulted  in  the  dethronement  of  the  King  Charles  I, 
who,  with  the  ruling  passion  strong  in  death,  declaring  that 
the  people  had  no  right  to  any  part  in  the  government,  calm- 
ly placed  his  head  upon  the  block,  was  beheaded,  and  Eng- 
land was  without  a  King,  and  parliament  governed  England 
and  established  a  republic  under  the  title  of  the  common- 
wealth, which  lasted  eleven  years.  During  this  period,  the 
ancestor  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Ipswich,  Mass. 
The  struggle  in  the  land  of  his  birth,  without  doubt,  had  its 
impress  on  his  character,  and  that  of  his  descendants.  The 


17 

great  grandfather  witnessed  the  revolution  in  England ;  the 
great  grandson  was  a  young  man  of  eighteen,  when  the  guns 
of  Lexington  and  Concord,  within  a  few  miles  of  his  home 
at  Acton,  sounded  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution,  which 
should  result  in  the  independence  of  the  colonies.  Those 
were  stirring  times,  as  125  years  before  in  the  mother  coun- 
try. So,  I  say  of  this  young  minister  who  appeared  in 
Wakefieldin  1784, — of  staunch  English  stock,  not  a  soldier 
of  the  Revolution,  but  a  thorough  patriot,  as  shown  by  his 
eloquent  address  on  the  death  of  Washington,  and  his  early 
home  would  make  him  so  ; — a  good  scholar  and  priest  of  the 
Most  High  God.  Nine  and  forty  years  he  lived  not  far  from 
the  beautiful  lake,  until  on  the  17th  day  of  May,  1835,  he 
died  very  suddenly,  much  lamented  by  the  church  and  the 
citizens  of  the  town  generally, — Rev.  Asa  Piper,  the  first 
pastor  of  this  church,  the  first  and  only  settled  Town  minis- 
ter. He  stands  at  the  head  of  the  line  in  time  and  talent. 
His  successors  must  have  mention,  though  it  be  brief.  In 
1828,  Rev.  Samuel  Nichols  was  ordained  as  colleague  pas- 
tor, serving  as  such  until  1833,  when  he  was  dismissed  by 
council.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Bangor  Theological  Semina- 
ry, 182(>,  a  native  of  South  Reading,  Mass.,  where  he  died 
in  1844,  in  the  forty-sixth  year  of  his  age.  As  a  preacher,  he 
may  not  have  ranked  high  for  brilliancy,  but  the  compara- 
tively large  number  of  additions  in  his  short  ministry,  of 
over  forty  to  the  membership  of  nine  at  his  arrival,  speaks 
well  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  society.  Six  weeks  af- 
ter our  first  minister  was  laid  away  in  his  peaceful  grave, 
but  a  few  steps  from  the  sacred  house  where  was  his  throne, 
there  came  another  minister,  not  quite  forty  years  of  age, — 
Nathaniel  Barker,  and  he  lived  among  you,  lo,  these  many 
years,  that  life  of  a  holy  man,  until,  scarce  two  years  since, 
he  was  called  away,  at  four  score  and  seven,  to  the  Reward 
of  the  Faithful.  He  also  was  a  college  graduate,  sharing 
with  Dartmouth  the  honor  of  one  of  her  sons  in  1822.  Rev- 
olutionary blood  and  the  martyr  spirit  was  in  his  veins. 
His  father,  Samuel  Barker,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  of 


18 

heroic  mould.  His  mother,  Betsy  Rogers,  the  daughter  of 
Major  Rogers  of  royal  descent,  tracing  back  his  ancestry  to 
the  fires  of  Smithfield  and  to  John  Rogers  the  martyr.  Born 
and  bred  in  a  Christian  household,  educated  for  the  gospel 
ministry,  a  graduate  of  Andover,  1825,  ordained  at  Mendon, 
Mass,  soon  after,  where  he  served  a  few  years,  with  a  heart 
bound  up  in  the  cause  of  the  Redeemer,  he  was  led  by  Provi- 
dence to  Wakefield,  in  New  Hampshire,  just  after  the  de- 
parture to  the  better  land  of  the  aged  first  pastor,  who,  like 
himself,  had  come  to  this  same  Wakefield  half  a  century 
before.  He  once  told  me,  speaking  of  the  liquor  traffic, 
then  quite  brisk,  "I  thought,  if  I  did  my  duty,  I  shouldn't 
stay  long."  But  the  Lord  gave  him  nearly  fifty  years  long- 
er, as  the  village  pastor  and  upright  citizen,  and  never  did 
his  voice  or  heart  shut  up  to  the  blight  of  that  curse,  or  any 
other  which  sin  has  brought  into  the  world.  He  now  sleeps 
in  the  burial  place  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  revered  in  the 
memory  of  all. 

His  successors  were,  Marvin  Leffingwell,  of  Methodist 
training,  who  did  a  faithful  work,  of  four  years,  before  1860. 
Joseph  B.  Tufts,  from  1861  to  1864,  during  which  period 
several  were  added  to  the  church.  These  are  all  dead. 
From  November  19,  1865,  to  April  1,  1871,  the  now  vener- 
able, still  vivacious  and  exact,  Daniel  Dana  Tappan,  labor- 
ed in  season  and  out  of  season,  for  the  upbuilding  of  Zion, 
and  the  full  harvest  is  not  yet.  From  his  pen,  gifted  even 
down  to  four  score  and  seven  years  of  age,  is  the  grand 
hymn  we  have  just  sung,  which  lacks  only  his  presence  and 
voice, 

"God  of  the  Centuries!  thy  truth 
Has  through  the  ages  held  its  way." 

During  his  time  of  service,  five  days  before  Christmas,  in 
the  year  1867,  the  bell,  weighing  819  pounds,  and  costing 
$388.73,  of  which  $100  was  contributed  by  friends  away, 
was  joined  to  the  church,  the  first  church  bell  in  town,  to 
call  with  its  silver  tones  the  people  to  the  house  of  God ; 
and  I  am  glad  that  so  many  have  heard  and  answered,  and 


19 

also  sorry  that  so  many  have  not  heard  nor  answered.  Rev. 
Alvan  Tobey  served  the  church  for  a  short  time,  in  1871,  I 
think.  Rev.  Sumner  Clark,  our  near  neighbor  and  firm 
friend,  present  with  us  to-day,  with  agreeable  memories  of 
the  three  years,  from  May,  1872,  that  he  spent  with  his 
Wakefield  parish,  since  which  time  he  has  passed  the  years 
of  his  retirement,  but  not  of  slothfulness,  in  our  sister  town 
of  Wolfeboro',  still  holding  in  your  hearts  a  large  place. 
The  five  years  before  1880,  were  marked  by  a  signal  dis- 
play of  the  grace  of  God,  especially  among  the  young,  in 
the  ministry  of  Rev.  Geo.  O.  Jenness,  who,  only  two  or 
three  Sabbaths  since,  gave  from  this  desk  the  message  to 
his  old  congregation,  as  in  days  gone  by,  and  to-day,  re- 
gretting his  inability  to  be  present,  as  do  we,  he  sends  greet- 
ing and  his  heartiest  well  wishes.  During  the  eighties,  the 
feeble  light  of  your  historian  has  been  shed,  and  it  is  to  him 
a  pleasure  and  a  pride  to  be  serving  in  this  Centennial  year, 
this  ancient  church,  and  to  recount  with  you  the  deeds  of 
your  pious  ancestors.  Leaving  the  latter  fifty  or  seventy- 
five  years,  with  very  limited  notices  of  the  ministers,  we 
shall  find  abundant  food  for  reflection  in  the  first  quarter  of 
a  century,  the  time  when  Asa  Piper  was  the  Town's  minis- 
ter. 

You  have  already  noticed  that  the  earlier  preachers  were 
educated  men,  who  believed  in  studying  the  Bible  in  the 
languages  in  which  it  was  written,  the  Hebrew  and  Greek. 
Without  sacrificing  the  religious  nature,  they  aimed  to  de- 
velop the  mind.  They  were  the  patrons  of  learning,  and, 
without  doubt,  had  something  to  do  in  forming  that  literary 
taste  which  has  prevailed  in  Wakefield,  and  sent  many  a 
young  man  to  college,  to  hold  in  everlasting  remembrance 
the  names  of  Dartmouth,  of  Harvard,  of  Yale  and  Bowdoin. 
These  preachers  were  loyal  citizens,  not  monks  seeking  re- 
tirement from  the  world  in  cloisters  and  caves.  They  were 
ever  fearless  in  the  discharge  of  what  conscience  told  them 
was  duty.  But  I  would  not  exalt  the  clergy  at  the  expense 
of  other  citizens,  and  we  may  pay  to  them  the  well  deserved 


20 

tribute  of  praise,  that  they  considered  the  sanctuary  a  bless- 
ing to  the  community,  and  sought  to  support  its  services 
with  their  purse  and  presence.  I  should  like  now  to  see 
them  gathered  on  the  Lord's  day  in  the  old  meeting  house, 
with  its  square,  high-backed  pews  or  pens,  its  three  galler- 
ies, its  huge  sounding  board,  oveV  the  stalwart  form  of  the 
minister  dressed  in  knee  breeches,  ancient  coat,  powdered 
hair,  preaching  to  our  ancestors  that  good  old  sermon  nine- 
ty-nine years  ago,  which  I  gave  last  Sabbath,  on  the  rever- 
ence due  to  the  house  of  God.  And  they  came  from  near 
and  from  far,  on  horse-back  and  on  ox  sleds,  and  barefoot- 
ed to  save  their  shoes  when  they  should  enter  the  sacred 
place.  Those  were  the  days  when  sacrifices  were  known. 

Eight  weeks  of  preaching  seems  to  us  small,  but  it  clear- 
ed the  law,  and  eight  weeks  preaching  then  might  be  as 
good  as  three  times  that  now.  But  that  didn't  satisfy  them. 
After  they  got  the  Revolution  oif  their  hands,  and  even  be- 
fore that  time  attempting  it,  we  find  them  engaging  a  min- 
ister by  the  year,  and  each  man,  by  vote  of  the  town,  was 
taxed  for  that  object ;  and  I  am  not  going  to  say,  even  at 
this  enlightened  day,  that  it  was  unjust  taxation.  The  pre- 
vailing sentiment  was  that  Public  Religious  Worship  was 
needed  for  the  welfare  of  the  town,  as  much  as  schools  and 
bridges,  and  the  town  should  furnish  one  as  well  as  the  oth- 
er. So  public  worship  would  be  maintained,  as  it  ought  to 
be,  even  if  the  town  take  it  in  hand,  whereas,  if  left  to  a 
few,  it  would  sink,  and  the  town  suffer.  Then,  it  could  be 
safely  left  only  with  the  town.  Now,  we  think  it  safe  to 
leave  it -with  anybody  but  the  town.  The  church  and  state 
are  separated.  Possibly  the  separation  of  education  from 
the  state  might  give  more  of  that  boasted  liberty  to  the  in- 
dividual. We  need  not  argue  for  or  against  the  old  method. 
Perhaps  we  have  outgrown  it.  We  know  that,  according 
to  custom,  the  town  of  Wakefield  did,  for  the  first  ten  years, 
support  preaching,  and  then  called  to  a  permanent  settle- 
ment, a  minister  who  accepted,  the  Rev.  Asa  Piper,  who 
had  already  preached  nineteen  Sabbaths.  This  call  was 


21 

given  in  November,  1784,  through  a  committee  of  seven, 
S.  Dearborn,  N.  Balch,  A.  Hall,  Lt.  Jona.  Oilman,  Capt. 
J.  Oilman,  Maj.  Jona.  Palmer  and  Ensign  Mayhew  Clark. 
The  terms  of  settlement,  or  the  Proposals,  were  : — Mr.  Pi- 
per was  to  receive, 

"In  addition  to  the  rights  sequestered  to  the  use  of  the  Ministry 
in  the  Town,  one  Hundred  Pounds  lawful  money  towards  building 
him  a  house,  to  be  paid  in  Labor  and  Materials  for  building,  com- 
mon labor  at  3s  per  day,  the  man  finding  himself;  Pine  Boards  at 
4  Dols.  per  1000  ft.;  Shingle  at  9s  per  1000.  Clapboards,  rough,  at 
4  dollars  per  1000,  each  of  said  articles  to  be  delivered  on  the  spot, 
and  in  any  other  articles  that  may  be  wanted  at  cash  price,  and  also 
lav  out  one  hundred  Days'  work  in  Fencing  and  clearing  the  Minis- 
ter's Lot.  That  the  town  will  give  said  Mr.  Piper  as  an  annual 
salary,  heventv  -five  pounds,  lawful  Money,  forty  pounds  of  said 
sum  to  be  paid  in  Money,  the  other  thirty-five  in  produce  of  the 
country,— twelve  pounds  in  Indian  corn  at  3s  per  bushel,  six  pounds 
in  Rie  at  4s  per  bushel,  five  pounds  in  Beef  at  2  l-2d  per  lb.,  twelve 
pounds  in  pork  at  o  pence  per  lb  It  is  to  be  understood,  that  for 
the  two  first  years,  they  will  give  only  sixty  pounds  annually  as 
salary,  and  after  that  adding  to  the  sixty  pounds  yearly  five  pounds, 
until  it  amount  to  seventy-five  pounds,  hi*  stated  annual  sahry." 

Also  voted  to  give  the  upper  part  of  the  town,  above  En- 
sign Mayhew  Clark's,  a  proportional  part  of  the  preaching. 
The  proposals  were  moditied  in  June,  so  that  one-half  of 
the  100£  settlement  shall  be  paid  the  first  year,  the  other 
half  the  next.  "The  work  shall  be  done  the  coming  fall. 
The  Rie  shall  be  at  3s  9d  per  bushel ;  Money  part  to  be  paid 
quarterly."  The  minister  wanted  less  pork  and  more  corn, 
so  the  twelve  pounds  in  pork  was  changed  to  the  same  val- 
ue in  Indian  corn.  To  this  call,  borne  by  S.  Dearborn, 
Esq.,  Capt.  David  Copp  and  Avery  Hall,  Mr.  Piper  made 
the  following  answer  in  the  affirmative  : 

WAKEFIELD,  June  20.  1785. 

FRIENDS  AND  BRETHREN  :  It  is  sometime  since  I  received  an  in- 
vitation to  settle  with  you  in  the  gospel  ministry — a  work  that  is 
not  to  be  undertaken  without  a  solemn  pause  and  mature  delibera- 
tion upon  the  reasons  operating  for  or  against  compliance.  Notwith- 
standing the  great  distance  from  my  particular  friends,  which  is  a 
circumstance  disagreeable  both  to  them  and  to  me,  and  other  ob- 
jections,—so  remote  from  my  brethren  in  the  ministry,  whose  society 


22 

and  kind  offices  would  be  a  source  of  satisfaction  and  edification, 
and  likewise  the  difficult  and  laborious  duty  of  the  ministerial  office 
to  which  I  feel  myself  so  unequal  and  unworthy  of.  Yet.  as  there 
appears  so  great  a  degree  of  unanimity  (as  far  as  I  have  obtained 
information)  among  the  people,  and  as  you  have  so  far  complied 
with  what  was  proposed  as  an  amendment  to  the  former  conditions; 
after  consulting  with  those  whose  advice  L  esteemed;  and  seeking 
direction  from  the  great  Head  of  the  church,  with  whom  is  the  res- 
idue of  the  spirit,  who  is  able  to  supply  every  weakness  and  de- 
ficiency, and  qualify  the  most  unworthy  for  his  service,  and  on 
whose  blessing  success  depends,  I  have  finally  thought  it  my  duty 
not  to  refuse  your  request,  and  do  accordingly  accept  your  invita- 
tion. Relying,  however,  if  a  union  should  take  place,  on  your 
Christianity  and  benevolence  that,  should  the  future  prosperity  of 
the  Town  admit  of  it,  you  will  make  me  such  further  allowance  as 
shall  be  necessary.  And  I  shall  expect,  likewise,  the  privilege  of 
absence  a  number  of  Sabbaths  yearly  in  order  to  visit  my  friends 
and  acquaintances  to  the  westward.  ASA  PIPER. 

"Friends  and  brethren"  he  calls  the  citizens  of  the  town. 
But  the  friends  thought  another  step  needed  to  secure  a  per- 
manent minister,  and  we  have  what  now  would  be  a  strange 
sight,  a  council  called  by  the  town  for  the  ordination  of  a 
religious  teacher,  and  at  the  same  time,  the  "brethren"  and 
their  wives  were  embodied  into  a  church  by  the  Town's 
council.  The  town  leads  ;  the  church  follows.  Now,  in 
calling  a  minister,  the  church  leads. 

So  our  centennial  is  of  the  church,  and  of  the  ordination 
of  the  Town  Minister,  and  we  are  to  acknowledge,  both  as 
a  town  and  as  a  church,  as  friends  and  as  brethren,  what  our 
ancestors  did  tor  the  religious  help  of  the  town. 

The  church  was  broad  in  its  foundation,  with  a  very  lim- 
ited creed,  and  a  generous  covenant :  "We  profess  a  seri- 
ous and  full  belief  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  are  given  by  inspiration  ;  that  they  teach  us  the 
the  doctrine  of  man's  apostacy  from  God,  and  the  only 
means  of  recovery  is  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  only 
Savior  of  lost  sinners."  A  little  later,  in  some  towns,  the 
tirst  church  organized  had  no  creed — simply  a  covenant  to 
join  together  Christians  of  different  names.  This  short  con- 
fession of  Faith  was  later,  and  in  1828,  at  the  time  of  set- 


23 

tling  the  colleague,  enlarged  and  arranged  in  eight  articles. 
The  covenant  seemed  to  be  the  main  thing  on  whicn  they 
depended  for  mutual  help,  though,  of  course,  the  covenant 
was  based  on  the  kinship  of  belief  and  practice,  and  the  ob- 
ject of  upbuilding  the  kingdom  of  grace.  It  had  an  "ex- 
ception" as  a  relic  of  the  "half-way  covenant,"  which  allowed 
people  to  be  church  members  and  yet  not  partake^  of  the 
Lord's  supper.  In  the  very  early  days  of  the  Massachu- 
setts colony,  only  church  members  could  hold  office  in  a 
town ;  arid  as  men  in  those  days  were  willing  to  hold  office 
if  thrust  upon  them,  they  were  willing  to  be  church  mem- 
bers. That  rule  now  might  increase  the  number  of  men  in 
our  churches.  One  excellent  woman,  without  doubt,  was 
taken  into  the  church  on  "exception"  in  1787,  her  conscience 
forbidding  her  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  for 
over  forty  years  she  was  deprived  of  that  privilege.  The 
Articles  of  Faith  have  been  amended,  in  1828,  and  again  in 
1867.  This  church  now  is  supposed  to  be  in  general  accord 
with  other  churches  of  the  Congregational  name,  but  at  the 
outset  that  name  is  not  used.  Neither  is  it  called  the  first 
church  of  Christ,  though  they  make  a  solemn  surrender  of 
themselves  to  the  Deity  in  Trinity,  and  "regard  it  our  in- 
cumbent duty  in  our  present  situation  to  form  ourselves  in- 
to a  church  for  fellowship  and  communion."  But  it  was  the 
First  church  of  Waketield,  and  I  am  glad  that  it  was  not 
the  last  one,  but  other  Christian  bands,  bearing  different 
names,  have  had  the  name  of  Christ  written  on  their  hearts, 
and  have  done  a  good  work,  and  their  representatives  are 
with  us.  Thus  embodied,  they  are  a  simple  band  of  hum- 
ble believers,  with  the  added  beauty  and  power  of  a  union 
of  families,  who  might  have  left  their  religion  in  their  old 
homes,  and  used  the  spare  time  in  building  up  solely  the  ma- 
terial interests  of  the  town.  But  they  were  either  addicted 
to  religious  habits,  or  were  wise  enough  to  foresee  that  this 
action  of  theirs  to  maintain  religious  worship  might  secure 
a  blessing  that  would  enrich  the  town  for  generations  to 
come.  So  they  became  a  band  of  Christians,  organized 


24 

and  seconding  the  praiseworthy  effort  of  the  town  to  secure 
public  worship  and  a  stated  ministry,  that  should  be  at 
once  sound  in  the  faith  and  learned.  This  was  found,  both 
by  the  town  and  church,  in  Asa  Piper  as  religious  Teacher 
and  their  Pastor.  The  moderator  of  the  special  town  meet- 
ing which  called  him  was  Simeon  Dearborn.  The  modera- 
tor of  the  new  church  meeting  was  A  very  Hall,  and  the 
voted  call  was  unanimous,  and  this  was  the  answer  given 
that  very  day,  before  his  ordination,  Wakefield,  Sept.  22, 
1785: 

"I  now  declare  my  acceptance  of  the  call  given  me  this  day  by 
the  church  of  Christ  in  this  place  to  be  their  pastor.  ASA  PIPER. 

The  town  had  already  called  him  to  be  their  minister,  and 
he  had  accepted  three  months  before.  The  town  led.  The 
church  followed.  And  when  the  town  totally  ceased,  as  it 
had  been  gradually  yielding  its  right,  to  lead,  at  the  pass- 
age of  the  Toleration  Act  about  18 19, — and  virtually  before, 
as  we  shall  see,  the  church  remained  as  the  organized  spir- 
itual body,  competent  to  call  and  settle  a  minister,  and  the 
First  Congregational  SOCIETY  was  chartered  by  the  Legis- 
lature in  1815,  which  embraced  Joseph  Wiggin,  Richard 
Dow,  Luther  Dearborn,  William  Sawyer,  Joshua  G.  Hall, 
John  Kimball,  Elisha  Sanborn. 

The  organizing  of  the  church  that  day  tempers  for  us  the 
secular  appearance  of  the  meeting.  The  state  was  not  the 
church,  but  it  protected  it,  and  regarded  itself  bound  to  fur- 
nish and  sustain,  as  well  as  to  protect,  public  worship. 
But  I  dwell  too  long.  This  justifies  us  in  regarding  this  as 
something  more  than  a  church  celebration,  and  in  honoring 
the  action  of  those  in  town  who  believed  that  a  town  without 
religion  is  worse  than  a  church  and  state  working  together 
— or  the  state  as  the  church — for  the  welfare  of  the  commu- 
nity . 

The  members  of  the  ordaining  council  were  ministers  Ha- 
sey  of  Lebanon,  Me.,  Haven  of  Rochester,  Adams  of  Acton, 
Mass.,  the  early  home  of  the  young  minister,  Xewhall  of 
Stowe,  Mass.,  Ripley  of  Concord,  Mass.,  the  last  three 


25 

from  good  old  Revolutionary  ground.  The  diary  of  Parson 
Hasey  gives  this  condensed  report :  "September  22,  1785. 
Chiefly  clear ;  rode  to  ordination  at  Wakefield.  Newhall 
prayed  ;  Adams  preached  ;  Hasey  prayed  and  charge  ;  Ha- 
ven right  hand  ;  Ripley  last  prayer.  Sept.  23,  rode  home 
A.  M.,  Mr.  Spring  with  me."  Thus,  on  the  22d  day  of  Sep- 
tember, Asa  Piper  saw  this  church  organized,  received  its 
call  and  accepted  it,  was  ordained,  and  married  his  first 
couple  in  Wakefield — Joseph  Maleham  and  Frederica  Lang. 
Enough  glory  for  one  day  for  one  man  !  That  last  event 
may  have  quickened  his  own  purposes,  tor  the  next  year 
or  so,  it  may  be,  I  judge,  he  brought  to  his  home  at  Simeon 
Dearborn's  his  young  wife — her  that  was  Mary  Cutts  of 
Portsmouth — and  not  long  after  moved  a  few  steps  to  the 
new  mansion  which  still  stands  on  that  site  of  remarkable 
beauty,  which  from  that  day  to  this  has  been  the  happy 
home  of  his  descendants.  Esquire  Dearborn's  house  was 
near  the  road  over  Copp's  hill.  There  was  the  "prophet's 
chamber"  in  the  early  day.  And  there  they  met  and  chose 
the  first  two  deacons,  Oct.  26,  Simeon  Dearborn,  Esq.,  who 
had  been  deacon  of  the  church  in  Greenland,  and  Avery 
Hall,  formerly  pastor  at  Rochester,  from  1766  to  1775. 

The  church  thus  organized  received  additions  from  time 
to  time,  but  the  number  was  small,  only  two  hundred  for 
the  century.  The  history  of  the  church  for  the  first  quar- 
tor  of  a  century  is  not  very  marked.  No  mighty  revivals — 
convulsing  society — when  men  quaked  before  the  majesty 
and  purity  of  God,  but  we  may  believe  a  steady  stream  of 
good  influence  was  flowing  on,  blessing  society.  Later  we 
find  revivals,  1828,  1887,  1840,  1875,  1881.  Then  infant 
baptism  was  regarded  important,  and  a  few  families  conse- 
crated their  children,  whose  children's  children  are  rejoicing 
in  the  God  of  their  fathers.  The  first  child  baptized  was 
William  Maleham,  whose  parents,  Joseph  and  Frederica, 
now  took  upon  themselves  vows  to  love  the  Lord,  as  they 
had  vowed  one  year  ago  to  love  each  other.  Great  grand- 
children of  Joseph  Maleham  are  of  this  church,  and  in  the 


Sunday  school  the  third  and  fourth  generations,  unto  whom 
the  Lord  is  showing  mercy. 

Richard  Dow,  one  of  the  original  members,  became   dea- 
con, and  in  1826  was,  at  his  own  request,    relieved  because 
of  age  and  infirmity,  and  died  in    1835,    the  same    year   as 
his    pastor,    full   of  years.     His    son,  Asa,    was  one  of  the 
first  to  receive  baptism.     Several  of  his   grand-children   at 
this  font  were  baptized,  and  to  the  memory  of  one  of  these, 
— who,  sixty  and  four  years  ago,  a  babe  in  the  arms    of  the 
aged  minister,  had  placed  upon  her  brow  the  sacred  water — 
to  her,  as  wife  and  mother,   we   owe   the  memorial   of  our 
Town  Library  and  High    School — Ellen   Almira  Dow,    the 
mother  of  our  honored  friend — the  daughter  of  Josiah,    the 
grand-daughter  of  Richard  Dow.       Other  descendants   have 
been  loyal  to  the  church  of  God,   with   whom   we    share  in 
regard  for  the  Christians  of  that  early  day.     Our   commun- 
ion set,  also,  is  the  gift  of  one  who  was  here  consecrated    in 
infancy,  and  of  her  husband  so  recently  called   away.      The 
grand-daughters  of  the  first  deacon  are  with  us  in  a  hale  old 
age,  still  interested,  as  always,    with   other  grand-children, 
in  the  service  of  the  sanctuary.     Descendants  of  the  second 
deacon  are  not  in  town.     But  the    early  records  show   him 
holding  the  office  of  Town  Clerk  and  first  selectman  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  prominent  in  civil  as   in   religious   affairs — 
Avery  Hall.     He  died    in   1820,    at   the    advanced   age  of 
eighty-two.     The  son  of  the  first   minister,   Edward   Cutts 
Piper,  as  deacon  for  nearly  half  a  century,    and  the   father 
as  minister  up  to  that  time,  cover  nearly  the  whole  hundred 
years  of  the  church  as    office  bearers.       He  quietly    passed 
away  in  the  month  of  February,    1881,   just  ninety   years 
from  that  winter  month  when  he    was  consecrated  to    God. 
Of  him  it  is  written:     "He  was  the  good  old  deacon,   per- 
mitted for  more  than  half  a  century  to  embellish    in   his  an- 
cestral home,  a  hard  working  farmer's  life   with   the   culture 
of  a  Christian  gentleman.     He  had  an    apostolic   beauty   of 
character,  and  led  a  blameless  life."      Other  deacons,   Lu- 
ther Dearborn,  1820  ;  Asa  Piper  Wiggin, — and  since  1879, 


27 

Satchel  Weeks. 

In  several  who  became  members  of  the  little  band,  the 
promise  was  fulfilled,  "With  long  life  will  I  satisfy  him." 
Thus,  Dea.  Dow  covered  fifty  years  of  church  life,  as  did 
the  late  Dea.  Piper,  who  joined  in  1831.  At  the  same 
time  joined  Belinda  Evans,  now  living  in  Ossipee  as  Mrs. 
Isaac  Thurston,  and  Emily  Peare,  later,  Rollins.  The  same 
year  Mrs.  Lucy  Bradbury  Chesley  entered  upon  those  52 
years  of  living  in  Wakefield  as  a  member  of  this  church, 
which  ended  only  last  year,  when  she  sank  to  sleep  on  Eas- 
ter day,  at  the  age  of  ninety.  Mrs.  Rhoda  Hobbs  com- 
pletes her  half  century  in  January.  Yet,  of  the  five  origi- 
nal male  members,  two,  and  perhaps  three,  died  within 
eighteen  months  after  they  joined  the  little  band,  Deacons 
Hall  and  Dow  surviving  Simeon  Dearborn,  Mayhew  Clark 
and  Samuel  Haines. 

Two  of  the  members  have  become  ministers, — John  H. 
Mordough  ('31)  ord.  Evang.  '36,  and  serving  the  revived 
and  reorganized  church  at  Effingham  for  some  three  years 
prior  to  1839.  He  died  in  1869.  Jonathan  Byron  Cook, 
son  of  Benjamin,  as  a  lad  of  eleven,  by  the  side  of  the  vil- 
lage lawyer,  joined  the  church  in  1839,  Sept.  8  ;  settled  as 
colleague  pastor  with  Rev.  Joshua  Dodge,  at  Moultonboro', 
1850-54;  for  several  years,  until  very  recently,  at  Hebron, 
>.:.  H.  Dr.  Charles  Coffin  Barker,  son  of  the  revered  min- 
ister, though  never  a  member  of  this  church,  for  some  years 
has  labored  for  his  Master  as  a  preacher  of  the  Adventist 
faith. 

Few  have  gone  forth  to  win  renown,  whose  names  are  on 
the  church  book.  We  cannot  measure  either  the  direct  or 
indirect  influence  of  the  church  upon  this  community  m  up- 
building morality  and  education,  as  well  as  spirituality.  But 
the  record  is  on  high.  The  presence  of  the  church,  even 
with  a  small  nominal  membership,  has  acted  as  a  restrain- 
ing influence  to  keep  back  from  impiety  and  wickedness. 
Like  a  tower  of  granite  it  has  stood  as  a  protest  against  sin  ; 
and  as  a  beacon  tower  to  guide  to  a  better  and  happier  life. 


28 

It  has  not  only  introduced  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but 
has  introduced  into  or  encouraged  people  to  enter  the  king- 
dom of  wisdom.  Its  early  preachers  were  men  of  sound 
learning,  educated  in  brain  and  heart,  and,  without  doubt, 
roused  by  their  scholarly  productions  in  the  pulpit,  and  out 
of  it  by  their  interest  in  education,  an  ambition  among  the 
lads  of  Waken" eld,  to  secure  that  of  more  value  than  gold. 
The  ministers  supplemented  the  work  of  the  near  relatives, 
who  were  themselves  college  learned.  With  an  illiterate 
minister,  the  boys,  very  likely,  would  have  gone  to  school. 
But  the  early  settlers  in  this  vicinity  did  not  want  that  kind. 
In  some  towns  the  parish  minister  wTas  the  only  educated 
man.  Not  so  in  Waketield.  College  graduates  Waken' eld 
had  right  along,  even  if  the  soil  was  rugged.  From  a  list 
prepared,  I  find  that  some  thirty  have  been  at  Exeter  Acad- 
emy, and  most  went  to  college,  and  I  am  sure  that  at  Dart- 
mouth, Harvard,  Bowdoin  and  Yale  not  a  few  graduates 
hailed  from  Waketield,  not  to  speak  of  those  other  gradu- 
ates, sons  of  other  towns,  who  have  entered  the  bowers  of 
our  Edens,  and  have  carried  off  the  fair  daughters  of  Wake- 
field. 

The  physicians  and  lawyers  of  Wakefield  have  been  edu- 
cated men — those  legal  lights  in  the  old  days,  Sawyer  and 
Copp  and  Hobbs,  and  the  son,  not  less  talented,  the  later 
Sawyer,  and  Charles  Chesley.  The  doctors, — Thomas 
Lindsey,  who,  before  this  century  begun,  wasn't  always  so 
successful  with  his  minister's  tax-list  as  in  his  practice,  and 
his  son,  Thomas,  Jr.,  Russell  and  Grant,  Gilman  and  Swa- 
sey,  McCrillis,  Twitchell  and  Roberts ;  these  men  have 
been  influential  in  the  town  and  in  the  state.  And  they 
thought  it  no  detriment  to  their  minds  to  sit  under  the 
preaching  of  Parsons  Piper  and  Barker,  and  receive  in- 
struction in  divine  things.  The  founders  wanted  a  learned, 
orthodox  ministry.  Their  descendants  may  have  thought 
more  of  the  "learned"  than  the  "orthodox"  part.  But  in 
getting  the  one  they  got  the  other.  That  by  the  by.  Still 
we  can  claim  as  a  church  and  congregation,  some  credit  for 


the  superior  educational  influences  of  this  village  in  the  past, 
through  the  pulpit  and  the  pews.  For  years,  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  1810.  Parson  Piper  was  President  of  the  Trustees  of 
Wolfeboro'  Academy,  and  some  of  our  boys  wended  their 
way  thither,  and  some  to  Dow  Academy  about  1815.  He 
was  also  of  our  Town  committee,  and  may  have  fitted  some 
for  college.  Parson  Barker,  in  the  first  years  of  his  Wake- 
field  life,  was  principal  of  the  Wakefield  Academy  in  its 
palmiest  days,  with  his  gifted  wife,  once  Katharine  Knight, 
of  Boscawen,  as  assistant,  and  for  many  years  within  your 
memory,  supervisor  of  schools,  giving  each  year  reports 
prepared  with  great  pains,  serving  his  town  even  up  to  four 
score  and  three. 

Wakefield  Academy,  since  1832,  has  had  two  or  three 
lives,  with  temporary  deaths  intervening.  Its  room  has 
been  over  the  church  room,  to  fulfil  the  conditions  of  a  gift. 
But  we  would  not  put,  in  our  lives,  education  in  a  room 
above  religion.  Either,  alone,  loses  part  of  its  power. 
Religion,  all  theory  and  no  practice,  or  all  emotion  and  no 
intelligence,  is  very  hard  and  brittle,  or  very  soft  and  tran- 
sitory. If  our  church  fathers  erred,  it  was  not  in  the  latter. 
If  they  emphasized  the  intellect  in  the  pulpit,  it  was  because 
they  feared  a  religion  of  pulp.  If  we  are  wiser  than  they, 
experience  has  been  our  schoolmaster.  Perhaps  if  they  had 
been  milder,  and  put  more  of  emotion  into  their  scholarly 
sermons,  and  their  views  of  life,  they  might  have  gained-  a 
larger  number  of  additions,  and  reached  more  hearts.  They 
were  inflexible,  that  is,  "set", — sometimes  a  virtue,  some- 
times a  hindrance.  This  may  account  for  small  member- 
ship. Again,  the  church  was  virtually  the  state  in  a  relig- 
ious capacit}r,  providing,  as  its  duty,  preaching  at  the  cen- 
tral place,  at  the  expense  of  the  town,  and  each  man  on  the 
grand  list  taxed.  To  this  the  majority  assented.  A  few 
protested,  but  perhaps  not  more  than  would  oppose  other 
acts  of  the  majority,  such  as  a  new  road.  Their  protest 
was  noticed.  The  sentiment  grew  quite  strong  against 
"taxation  without  representation",  in  this  sense,  that  the 


30 

preaching  didn't  express  their  views, — from  some    near   the 
church  as  well  as  more  remote.     Some  preferred  preaching 
of  a  different  sort,  and  some,  then  as  now,  probably   prefer- 
red no  preaching,  and  didn't  wish  to  pay  for  the   support  of 
any  highway  they  didn't   travel  on.      There    was   also    an 
idea  that  the  minister  should  not  be  a  "hireling."       Still,   if 
anything  was  to  be  given,  let  it  be  voluntary,  not  by  taxing. 
As  early  as  1788,  within  three  years  from  the  settling  of  the 
first  minister,  several  "who  called  themselves  a  Baptist  So- 
ciety" the  town  voted  "to  exempt  from  paying  a  tax  to  the 
town  minister,  and  shall  hold  them  excused  so  long  as  they 
support  preaching  among  themselves  according  to  their  per- 
suasion, or  attend  upon  the  ministry  in  their  way  ;    and  at 
the  same  time,  we  wish  their  attendance  with  us,  and  leave 
it  to  their  generosity  to  contribute  what  they  please  for  the 
support  of  Mr.  Piper."      Their   names  will   interest   you  : 
Samuel  Allen,   Samuel   Allen,  Jr.,    Ebenezer   Cook,    John 
Horn,  the  first  town  clerk,  John  Hill,  Jacob  Wiggin,    Sim- 
eon Wiggin,  Isaiah  Wiggin,  and  Tobias  Hanson.     This  was, 
I  judge,  the  society  later  worshiping  at   the  Spinney  meet- 
ing house.     In  this    neighborhood  was   the  early    home    of 
that  venerable  minister,  wTho,  for  full  fifty    years,    has    been 
almost  our  Town  Minister,  so  wide  has  been  his  circuit  and 
influence,  and  I  regret  to-day  that  he    is    not   present,    as  I 
hoped  he  would  be,  to  speak  of  olden  days.     I  refer  to    El- 
der .Joseph  Spinney,  of  winning  ways,   and  the  appearance 
of  a   patriarch.     Each   year,    nearly,    some  were  excused. 
But  the  town  only  could  excuse.      It  held  that  right,  as  well 
as  to  tax.     It  may  not  be  proper   for  us,    at  this   time,   to 
criticise  too  sharply  this  right.     We  do  not  meet  to-day    to 
say  that  the  First  church    should   have  remained    the    only 
one.     B^ut  to  rejoice  that  the  good  Lord   permitted  a   FIRST 
church  to  exist  in  Wakefield.     A  variety  in  religious,  as    in 
political  views,  may  be  expected,    even  among  a  small  pop- 
ulation.    Each  view  may  be  of  hearts  loyal   to    God  or   to 
the  nation.     And  this  variety  is  shown  in  the  history  of  our 
town,  as  the  number  excused  grew  larger.       In  1788,  these 


31 

ten  I  have  mentioned ;  in  1794,  fifteen ;  1798,  37  out  of  162 
voters  ;  1804,  44  ;  1807,  98  out  of  192,  over  one-half ;  1810, 
the  "contract"  was  "dissolved", — and,  practically,  from  that 
time  on,  support  was  voluntary,  Asa  Piper  not  being  the 
paid  minister  of  the  town,  but  pastor  of  the  church  for  an- 
other quarter  of  a  century,  until,  in  1819,  Taxation  for 
preaching  was  abolished  by  the  "Act  of  Toleration".  Dr. 
Lyman  Beecher,  one  of  the  most  eminent  Orthodox  divines 
then  living,  in  his  own  state  of  Connecticut,  earnestly  and 
bitterly  opposed  that  Act.  He  thought  that  the  Restraint 
or  Constraint  ot  the  Law  taken  away,  the  flood-gates  would 
l>e  opened,  and  a  great  tide  of  ungodliness  sweep  the  vil- 
lages. But  the  Lord  lived.  And  Lyman  Beecher  lived  to 
become  an  equally  earnest  advocate  of  Voluntary  Support. 
Let  us  give  our  fathers  credit  for  sincerity,  whether  they 
advocated  the  one  or  the  other,  and  unite  with  such  of  them 
as  believed  that  the  Religious  and  Moral  welfare  of  a  Town 
is  of  the  first  importance.  To  them  be  honor  given  by  us, 
their  descendants, — to  those  "who  came  into  the  wild-erness 
and  left  it  a  fruitful  field" ;  who  made  homes  for  themselves 
and  for  us.  The  town  improved  in  the  quarter  century 
when  they  had  their  First  and  only  Town  Minister.  This 
is  shown  in  the  eloquent  and  pathetic  document  when  Par- 
son Piper  on  his  part  dissolved  the  contract,  January  1st, 
1810. 

"The  five  and  twentieth  vear  is  now  in  part  elapsed  since  my  in- 
duction into  the  important  and  sacred  office  of  a  religious  Teacher 
in  this  place.  At  that  time  the  people  were  few  in  number,  and  had 
but  imperfectly  subdued  a,  wilderness,  and  prepared  the  soil  to 
yield  support  to  the  inhabitants,  who,  being  collected  together 
from  various  places,  were,  many  of  them,  far  frDm  abounding  with 
the  conveniences  mid  delicacies  of  life.  ******  Fears 
were  entertained  by  some  at  that  time  that  the  people  would  not  be 
able  to  fulfil  their  engagements  without  bringing  poverty  and  dis- 
tress upon  themselves.  But  a  present  view  of  the  case  will  show 
how  groundless  were  those  fears.  Instead  of  those  temporary, 
humble  cottages  first  erected,  and  which  they  would  now  think 
could  scarce  give  shelter  to  their  herds,  we  now  behold  comforta- 
b'e  and  even  eleganf  habitations.  Thus  hath  a  kind  providence 


32 

blessed  us;  and  thus  is  there  exhibited  unto  my  eyes  irresistible 
proof  that  what  I  have  received  from  the  town  hath  not  impover- 
ished them.  Injustice  to  myself,  I  must  sav,  that  1  have  ever  cher- 
ished a  lively  sympathy  with  the  people,  and  made  it  my  constant 
endeavor  to  lighten  lne  burdens,  and  not  forget  the  poor.  In  all 
their  afflictions  I  wa-  afflicted;  and  an  omnipresent  Deity  can  wit- 
ness my  secret  intercessions  for  unity,  happiness  and  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  all.  *******  Desirous  as  I  am  of  meeting  the 
wishes  of  the  people,  I  have  uniformly  declared  my  readiness  to 
absolve  them  from  every  obligation  to  contribute  to  my  support, 
whenever  they  should  express  such  a  desire;  and  had  such  an  event 
taken  place  several  years  ago  rather  than  at  this  time,  the  probabil- 
ity is  that  it  would  have  been  more  for  my  temporal  happiness. 
Because,  having  expended  a  considerable  sum  in  fencing  and  sub- 
duing my  farm,  and  the  like,  I  shall  probably  not  find  any  one  dis- 
posed to  compensate  me,  should  it  become  expedient  to  dispose  of 
my  property.  Besides,  the  season  of  gray  hairs  admonishes  me  of 
approaching  infirmities,  and  davkens  the  prospect  before  me.  Nev- 
ertheless, I  should  prefer  a  "dinner  of  herbs  where  love  is,  unto  a 
stalled  ox  and  hatred  therewith."  It  has  lately  been  signified  to  me 
that  a  dissolution  of  the  contract  is  wished  for  by  some,  and  thought 
expedient  by  many.  I  do  not  feel  disposed  to  throw  obstacles  in 
the  wav ;  and  therefore  declare  my  readiness  to  dissolve  the  civil 
contract.  I  would,  therefore,  say  that  I  will  agree  unto  i's  dissolu- 
tion on  the  following  conditions:  1st.  That  all  sums  now  assess- 
ed by  virtue  of  the  contract  be  paid  in  conformity  to  its  provisions. 
M.  That  I  enjoy  all  immunities,  as  heretofore,  while  my  relation 
to  the  church  shall  continue.  3d.  That  I  receive,  as  an  Jndemnifi- 
cation  in  part,  for  this  concession,  four  hundred  dollars. 

To  the  inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Wakefield,  this  day  in  Town 
meeting  assembled. 

January  1st,  1810.  ASA  PIPER. 

At  that  town  meeting,  Maj.  Joshua  G.  Hall  moderator, 
it  was  voted  to  dissolve  the  contract  according  to  Mr.  Pi- 
per's proposals, — Joseph  Wiggin,  Town  Clerk. 

Thus,  in  1810,  the  town  ceased  to  support  preaching, 
but  the  Town  Minister  continued  as  pastor  for  twenty-live 
years  more,  with  a  colleague  from  1828  to  1833,  until  his 
death  in  1835,  much  lamented.  Old  people  now  living,  re- 
member "the  old  priest",  as  he  was  called,  and  delight  to 
tell  of  him,  a  man  of  massive  frame,  great  dignity  and  up- 
right character,  who  did  much  to  up-build  society  in  this 


33 

town.  To  Parson  Piper,  the  best  citizen  regarded  not  only 
the  material,  but  the  moral  and  spiritual  interests  of  society. 
The  best  citizen  wants  the  best  roads  and  bridges,  the  best 
schools  and  churches.  He  himself  was  not  purely  a  preach- 
er on  the  Sabbath  and  secluded  from  society  the  rest  of  the 
week.  He  was  a  citizen,  and  one  of  the  best.  He  was  al- 
ways at  the  polls,  and  his  fellow  citizens  parted  as  he  march- 
ed up  through  with  stately  step  to  deposit  his  ballot.  He 
admired  Washington.  He  was  a  leader  in  making  improve- 
ments in  husbandry.  He  beautified  his  own  premises,  lift- 
ing agriculture  out  of  the  rudimental  condition,  and  sought 
to  combine  the  beautiful  with  the  useful.  He  believed  in 
the  elevating  influence  of  nature,  yet  he  wanted  to  transform 
the  places  "where  every  prospect  pleases,  and  only  man  is 
vile".  He  cultivated  the  rugged  soil,  and  aimed  to  please 
the  eye  as  well  as  the  appetite.  We  are  not  to  get  enjoy- 
ment by  feeding  upon  fish  and  fowl  alone,  but  feast  the  eye 
upon  the  rich  foliage,  and  listen  to  the  songs  of  the  birds, 
and  admire  the  heavens  of  beauty. 

"Forever  singing  as  they  shine, 
The  hand  that  made  us  was  divine." 

Mr  Piper  made  the  address  at  the  first  agricultural  Fair 
in  this  region,  at  Rochester,  and  the  splendid  shade  trees 
planted  by  his  hand,  are  a  monument  to  his  foresight,  as 
they  adorn  the  avenue  in  front  of  the  ancestral  grounds. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  college,  and  his  influence  up- 
on the  town  in  those  early  days  we  may  not  fully  know. 
The  Circulating  Library  he  was  foremost  in  starting  in  1797, 
which  existed  60  years  and  then  went  out,  only  one  share- 
holder now  surviving  in  town — Hubartis  Neal. 

The  record  of  our  first  minister,  Asa  Piper,  the  angels  of 
Him  who  knows  have  kept.  So  our  record  is  being  written 
by  unseen  hands ;  and  a  hundred  years  from  today,  those 
now  unborn  may  be  recounting  our  deeds  to  our  children's 
children.  Let  us  keep  the  lights  burning  in  the  watch  tow- 
er of  Zion ;  and  may  the  Sanctuary  ever  be  the  center  of 
our  life  and  prosperity  in  the  home  and  in  the  town.  To- 


34 

day  we  are  looking  back  over  the  generations  of  the  past. 
It  is  valuable  to  do  this  ;  to  keep  in  memory  the  deeds  of 
those  who  toiled  to  subdue  the  forest,  and  cause  the  soil  to 
bear  fruit  for  man.  The  pioneers  of  our  country  did  a  great 
work,  and  deserve  to  be  remembered,  and  remembered  with 
gratitude .  And  they  did  that  work  because  they  had  great 
souls,  that  were  not  daunted  by  any  obstacles,  who  feared 
not  the  lions  in  the  way,  because  they  were  stout  hearted. 
And  they  left  the  impress  upon  their  descendants.  The 
nearer  we  get  to  them  the  more  of  this  spirit  do  we  have. 
Contact  with  rugged  soil,  and  other  things  rugged,  does  not, 
of  necessity,  make  the  rugged,  vigorous  character.  But 
the  rugged  character  finds  its  congenial  work  in  battling 
with  the  obstacles  in  nature  and  in  man.  Whoever  can  trace 
his  ancestry  back  to  one  of  those  great-hearted  families  has 
an  inheritance  worth  more  than  great  riches.  It  might  be 
well  if  circumstances  now  demanded  that  we  should  have  to 
battle  as  did  our  fathers,  and  use  our  energies,  not  in  de- 
veloping shrewdness  of  character,  but  solidity. 

So,  to-day,  let  us  seek,  not  merely  for  information  about 
our  fathers,  but  also  inspiration  from  what  they  did,  the 
the  better  ourselves  to  do  the  duty  God  lays  upon  us  ;  so 
that  we  may  leave — not  footprints  on  the  sands  of  time, 
which  may  be  washed  away, — but  carve  our  names  high  up 
among  the  benefactors  of  humanity.  The  heroic  spirit  of 
our  ancestors  should  be  to  each  for  an  inspiration  and  a 
strength.  But  we  cannot  live  simply  on  the  heritage  of  the 
past.  It  is  not  good  for  a  young  man  to  live  only  on  what 
his  father  leaves  him.  Each  age  toils  and  suffers  for  the 
next.  The  Pilgrim  Fathers  fled  for  "liberty"  to  a  new  land, 
and  suffered.  Then  the  Revolutionary  Fathers  fought  and 
bled  for  "liberty".  Our  Farmer  Fathers  toiled  to  preserve 
that  "liberty". — And  what  shall  we  do  ?  We  must  toil  for 
the  next  century,  and  so  each  one  shall  have  a  heritage  to 
which  he  can  add  by  his  toil.  We  have  a  free  country,  a 
Christian  land.  The  Bible  is  not  sealed.  The  school 
hout-es  are  not  burned  down.  Our  houses  of  worship  are 


35 

abundant,  and  the  gospel  is  helping  us  on  to  a  better  and 
happier  life.  The  Lord  be  thanked  that  that  seed  was  plant- 
ed in  1785.  We  have  a  right  to  sing  the  song  of  the  tiny 
acorn,  and  then  go  forth  to  help  to  make  the  new  century, 
more  than  any  other  since  the  world  began,  God's  century, 
and  years  of  the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High. 

Hon.  Seth  Low  was  next   introduced    by    the    President, 
and  spoke  as  follows  : 

MR.  CHAIRMAN  AND  CITIZENS  or  WAKEFIELD  : 

"As  shadows  chased  by  cloud  arid  sun 

Fly  fitful  o'er  the  grass, 
So  in  thy  sight,  Almighty  One. 

The  generations  pass. 

Standing  here  to-day  as  the  son  of  Ellen  Almira  Dow, 
whose  father  was  Josiah  Dow,  and  whose  grandfather  was 
Richard  Dow,  all  of  whom  were  identified  with  this  place, 
and  all  of  whom  long  since  have  been  gathered  to  their  fa- 
thers, I  am  reminded  with  peculiar  solemnity  of  these  lines 
of  the  New  England  poet.  This  Richard  Dow  was  one  of 
the  original  members  of  the  first  church  of  Waken" eld,  whose 
Centennial  we  celebrate  to-day ;  therefore  I  have  a  right  to 
be  with  you  at  this  time,  a  right  which  also  I  value  as  a 
privilege.  Whether  it  is  due  or  not  to  the  stream  of  New 
Hampshire  blood  that  runs  in  my  veins  I  cannot  tell,  but 
certain  it  is  that  though  a  dweller  in  the  city,  I  never  read 
without  a  responsive  tingle  which  I  can  feel,  that  old  psalm 
of  Israel's  poet  King,  "I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the  hills 
from  whence  cometh  my  help."  The  up-lift  of  the  moun- 
tains upon  the  soul  of  man,  as  they  point  him  sky-ward, 
seems  to  me  a  very  real  thing.  I  often  wonder  whether 
you  who  dwell  beneath  the  calm,  far  gaze  of  the  mountains 
themselves,  feel  this  as  the  children  of  New  Hampshire  feel 
it  when  they  see  the  mountains  only  now  and  then.  In  any 
case,  I  am  glad  to  be  with  you  to-day,  to  join  you  in  bless- 
ing God  that  He  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  your  fathers  and 
mine  one  hundred  years  ago,  to  found  this  first  church  of 


36 

Wakefield.  Those  of  us  who  live  in  cities  learn  that  all 
men  do  not  see  things  in  the  same  way.  Neighbors  differ 
on  every  question  that  comes  up.  They  differ  in  taste  and 
in  general  make-up,  no  less  than  in  ideas.  We  see  about 
us  there,  men  of  other  birth  trained  under  different  customs  ; 
and  we  learn,  or  ought  to  learn,  that  no  one  man  and  no 
one  nation  posesses  all  that  is  good,  or  all  that  is  true.'  So 
in  our  churches,  we  ought  to  learn,  I  conceive,  that  no  one 
church  and  no  one  kind  of  a  church  contains  the  whole 
truth  and  the  power  to  commend  it  to  all  men.  I  am  not 
indifferent  to  the  evils  that  come  from  the  divisions  among 
Christians,  but  I  plead  for  recognition  of  the  unity  that 
lies  back  of  the  divisions.  Men  tell  us,  you  know,  that  all 
the  colors  of  the  rainbow  are  contained  within  a  ray  of 
white  light,  but  the  world  is  lit,  not  by  the  rays  divided 
into  colors,  nor  yet  by  light  devoid  of  separate  colors  ;  but 
the  "light  which  lighteth  every  man  which  cometh  into  the 
world,"  is  a  light  in  which  all  partial  lights  are  so  blended 
as  to  make  the  perfect  ray  of  universal  brightness.  So  it 
is  that  some  of  us,  born  of  this  old  New  Hampshire  strain, 
worship  the  God  of  our  fathers  in  a  fashion  different  from 
that  which  was  dear  to  them.  But  we,  no  less  than  you, 
worship  the  same  God,  and  we  try,  as  you  do,  to  worship 
him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  So  I  ask  you  to  believe  of  the  lit- 
tle church  at  the  Junction,  which  is  very  dear  to  me  and  to 
others  who  hold  precious  the  names  of  many  who  have  wor- 
shiped in  your  midst  in  this  old  Corner  Church,  I  ask  you 
to  believe  of  that  little  church  at  the  Junction  that  we  wor- 
ship there  the  same  God  as  our  fathers  did,  and  that  we  de- 
sire to  do  it  in  the  fullest  fellowship  with  you  of  devotion 
to  a  common  Lord.  I  am  glad  with  all  my  heart  to  see 
present  to-day,  and  taking  part  in  these  services,  the  Rec- 
tor of  that  church,  for  well  I  know  that  if  God  had  not  giv- 
en to  Richard  Dow  one  hundred  years  ago  a  heart  which 
led  him  to  join  in  the  establishment  of  this  First  church  of 
Wakefield,  there  is  little  chance  that  his  descendants  would 
have  cared  to  help  to  establish  any  church  in  this  or  in  any 


37 

place.  I  hail  you,  therefore,  gladly,  as  is  your  due,  as  the 
Mother  Church  of  Wakefield  ;  and  as  one  of  those  who  feel 
this  obligation  to  you  for  your  past,  I  bid  you  God-speed 
for  a  fortunate  and  useful  future,  and  I  bespeak,  as  between 
you  and  your  daughter  church  at  the  Junction,  that  unity 
and  fellowship  of  feeling  which  is  born  of  consecration  to 
the  service  of  one  God  and  one  Lord. 

The  President  next  introduced  Miss   Harriet  N.   Hobbs 
who  read  the  following  poem  written  by  her  for  the  occasion  : 

HIS  MESSAGE. 

As  in  the  silence  of  an  unused  room 

We  idly  stay  our  weary  feet, 
Watching  where  in  the  stillness  and  the  gloom 

The  shadows  and  the  sunshine  meet, 
Through  ways  of  mystery  we  come  to  know 

Our  dead  are  waiting  with  us  there, 
Moving  with  noiseless  footsteps  to  and  fro 

An  unseen  presence  in  the  air. 
"We  hold  the  secret  of  eternal  years" 

They  softly  whisper  and  pass  by. 
"Lo  to  the  happy  dead  can  come  no  tears, 

The  best  of  life  is,  we  may  die." 
Oh  church  of  God  with  century  blossom  crowned 

To  day  doth  lead  us  into  space 
By  grim  shadows  peopled,  who  by  no  sound 

Do  break  the  silence  of  their  place. 
Through  the  vibrant  air  the  soul  hears  the  call 

In  Eden,  and  the  answered  shame 
Burdened  with  weight  of  life  and  death  to  all, 

As  there  the  shadowed  promise  came. 
Under  the  noontide  heat  on  Mamre's  plain 

In  his  tent  door  watching  his  flocks, 
Mourning  the  years  he  has  waited  in  vain 

For  Shiloh,  "while  doubting  Sarah  mocks, 


38 

As  through  the  mists  of  early  morning  light 

We  see  climbing  with  faith  sublime 
Up  the  rough  steeps  of  Moriah's  height 

The  patriarch  of  olden  time. 
From  far  off  Nebo  gazing  down,  his  face 

Radiant  with  the  dawning  light 
Of  heaven,  Moses  sees  God's  chosen  race 

Waiting  to  take  their  promised  right. 
For  them  grapes  of  Eschol  who  know  no  taste 

Of  earthly  food.     For  them  a  land, 
Erewhile  they  wandered  over  desert  waste, 

A  murmuring    rebellious  band. 
Wearing  her  heaped  mantle  with  stately  pride 

Softly  the  heathen  gleaner  sings 
Through  the  Judean  fields  at  eventide 

The  mother  of  Israel's  kings. 
As  the  swift  after  ages  move  along 

With  full  cycles,  in  sure  accord 
Out  of  the  hill  country  comes  Mary's  song 

"My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord". 
But  as  a  wayward  child  afar  off'  flings 

As  he  stands  with  averted  face 
The  better  gift  a  loving  father  brings 

To  take  some  childish  vision's  place, 
Amid  the  nations  doth  Israel  stand 

As  one  seeing,  yet  will  not  see 
The  daystar  bringing  to  a  waiting  land 

The  coming  day  of  prophecy. 
Their  ears  are  heavy  when  the  bitter  cry 

From  Him  grief  stricken  and  thorn  crowned 
Sweeps  through  the  world,  "It  is  finished,  I  die 

Smitten  and  pierced  by  many  a  wound. 
Behold  me  I  came  to  my  own  in  vain. 

For  all  the  love  I  gave  to  them, 
They  gave  me  scorn  and  stripes  and  bitter  pain . 

And  yet  of  old  in  Bethlehem 


39 

Prophets  found  for  me  a  habitation, 

And  there  arose  that  wondrous  star 
The  hope  of  ancient  Israel's  nation 

Which  wise  men  worshipped  from  afar. 
I  had  reigned  for  aye  when  the  world  was  young 

A  king  upon  my  Father's  throne, 
Or  ere  the  morning  stars  together  sung 

I  claimed  this  people  for  my  own. 
Oppressed  I  stood  before  my  slayers  dumb. 

To  you  of  Gentile  race  my  word 
I  give,  to  speak  through  ages  yet  to  come 

The  message  of  thy  risen  Lord. 
Fear  not  the  task,  I  am  with  you  alway. 

As  of  old  I  am  shield  and  light. 
A  brooding  and  shadowy  cloud  by  day, 

A  bright  and  guiding  flame  by  night. 
I  will  lead  thee  in  paths  thou  hast  not  known, 

Oh  my  beloved  follow  me. 
I  know  thee  and  I  shall  not  lose  my  own, 

However  rough  the  way  may  be. 
Thou  must  struggle  to  many  a  Calvary 

Bearing  the  cross  over  the  way, 
But  remember  that  I  went  before  thee 

In  anguish,  on  that  awful  day. 
When  even  my  Father  had  hid  His  face 

From  me,  and  through  the  darkened  land 
All  the  righteous  dead  from  their  resting  place 

Arose,  and  walked,  a  ghastly  band. 
Go  forth  and  work  until  that  day  of  rest 

When  an  exultant  throng  shall  sing 
"Their  works  do  follow  them,  and  they  are  blest. 

Lo  the  Lamb  who  was  slain  is  King." 
To  the  harvest  for  the  eternal  years 

Some  that  day  will  bear  ripened  sheaves, 
And  others  trembling  and  with  bitter  tears 

Can  bring  me  only  withered  leaves. 


40 


Throughout  the  livelong   day  all  bravely  toil. 

But  when  at  last  the  night  is  conic, 
Some  joyful  bring  the  victor's  spoil 

And  some  with  folded  hands  are  dumb. 
But  she  who  touched  my  garment's  hem 

Was  healed.     So  mourning  hearts,  be  still 
For  God  His  grace  divine  will  give  to  them 

Simply  content  to  do  His  will. 
Arid  in  His  city  that  glorious  day 

Lo  all  my  ransomed  church  shall  meet 
Before  my  Father's  throne  to  dwell  alway 

And  there  to  worship  at  His  feet. 


At  the  after  dinner  informal  service  at  the  meeting  house 
Hon.  J.  G.  Hall  was  called  upon  to  give,  in  regard  to  the 
early  settlers,  some 

"REMINISCENCES." 

MY  FRIENDS,  this  Centennial  observance  ot  the  embodi- 
ment of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Wakefield  and  the 
ordination  of  its  first  Pastor  is  to  us  all  a  day  of  stirring 
memories.  In  years  to  come  we  shall  ever  recur  to  it  as  a 
memorable  day  and  its  recollections  will  be  a  delight  to  us 
to  the  close  of  life.  In  my  own  case  the  occasion  reminds 
me  that  my  ancestors,  both  paternal  and  maternal,  have, 
from  the  earliest  settlements  at  Dover  and  Newbury  with- 
out exception  or  break  in  the  descending  lines  to  this  day 
adhered  to  the  old  Congregational  views,  and  I  take  satis- 
faction in  being  a  member  of  the  old  Parish  where  the  h'rst 
ancestor  this  side  the  sea  of  my  Friend  the  President  of  the 


41 

day  and  myself,  officiated  as  the  first  deacon  of  the  church 
and  where  in  the  words  of  the  old  Dover  records  of  the 
year  1671  he  "agried  with  the  Selectmen  to  sweep  the 
Meetinghouse  and  ring  the  bell  for  one  holl  yeir  &  to  have 
for  thatsarves  the  some  of  three  pounds." 

But  this  ancient  church  true  to  the  tolerant  spirit  that  its 
first  Pastor  and  his  flock  manifested  for  those  whose  relig- 
ious opinions  differed  from  theirs,  walking  in  the  ways  of 
Christian  fellowship  with  those  of  other  faiths,  enlarge  their 
borders  to-day  and  ask  all  the  Town  to  come  in  and  with 
them  once  again  as  of  old  for  one  day  at  least  be  one  fold  ; 
so  that  this  is  the  Centennial  of  the  Town  as  well  as  of  the 
Church  and  this  is  as  it  should  be,  for  though  one  hundred 
years  ago  this  Town  and  this  Church  were  by  no  means  co- 
incident as  they  were  at  an  earlier  period  in  Massachusetts 
still  the  church  here  bore  to  the  Town  very  much  the  rela- 
tion that  the  soul  does  to  the  body.  It  was  indeed  the.light 
set  on  the  hill.  Had  the  early  settlers  been  told  that  they 
must  maintain  the  Town  without  the  church  they  would 
have  abandoned  their  homes  here  and  gone  elsewhere  where 
they  could  have  had  the  gospel  preached.  In  brief,  the 
church  our  Fathers  planted  here  and  those  that  have  grown 
up  in  its  shadow  have  mide  the  Town  and  it  is  fitting  that 
we  should  all  come  in  and  celebrate  with  this  Mother  church 
her  centennial  day.  The  occasion  is  fruitful  in  suggestion  to 
us  all  and  it  specially  reminds  me  that  we  have  been  remiss 
in  our  duty  to  our  ancestors,  to  ourselves  and  to  posterity 
alike  in  not  causing  a  history  of  the  town  to  be  written  and 
published.  The  history  of  Wakefield  ought  to  have  been 
written  years  ago.  Had  some  one  of  our  citizens  of  fifty  or 
even  forty  years  ago  undertaken  the  work  we  might  to-day 
possess  a  volume  at  once  instructive  and  grateful  to  the  mind 
of  this  generation  and  of  those  who  may  succeed  us.  Among 
the  first  settlers  and  the  generations  following  there  was  an 
exceptionally  large  proportion  of  strong  minded  and  intel- 
ligent men  and  women.  Superior  as  they  were  in  mental 
grip  and  acquired  knowledge  they  exercised  a  controlling 


42 

force  and  impressed  themselves  on    the   people  of  the    sur- 
rounding country.     Their  lives  were   abundant    in  stirring 
incidents  that  would  have  greatly  enriched    the    pages    of  a 
Town  history.     But  busy  as  the  men  of  three  score  years 
ago  were  in  the  struggle  for  bread  and  a  little    learning    for 
their  children  no  time  was  found  nor  thought  given  to   gar- 
nering the  deeds  of  our  early  days  for  the  delight  and  proh't 
of  their  descendants,  and  so  I  fear  much  of  the  most   valua- 
ble material  for  a  history    of  the  Town  is  lost  irrevocably. 
Still,  that  time  and  labor  will  give  us  a  history  of  great    in- 
terest and  value  even  at  this  late  day,  the  able  and   discrim- 
inating historical  discourse  of  your    Pastor  this  morning  is 
gratifying  evidence.     If  this  occasion  is  of  no  other    service 
than  to  excite  such  an  interest  in  our  ancestors  as  will    lead 
speedily  to  the  writing  of  the  story  of  their   lives   posterity 
I  am  sure  will  refer  to   it  as  a  red  letter  day   in  the  Town's 
life.     The  limits  of  Wakefield  remain  the  same  as  when  the 
town  was   incorporated    excepting  that  the    small    portion 
above  Province    Pond    was  in  1820  annexed  to    Effingham, 
but  I  tind  that  in  1820  an  effort    was    made   by  the    people 
living  in  this  town  below  LovelFs  pond   with   others    living 
in  the  Northerly  part  of  Milton,  to  have  that  part  of  Wake- 
tield  south  of  Lovell's  pond    and  the   northerly    portion   of 
Milton  incorporated  into  a  new  town.     Luther   Dearborn  of 
this  town  and  John  Remick  Jr.  of  Milton  headed    petitions 
to  the  legislature  for  the  new  town  which  wras   to  be   called 
Lisbon.     The  Rev.  Mr.  Piper  favored  the  project  and   sug- 
gested the  name  Milh'eld  for  the  new  town.     This  town    fell 
within  the  limits  of  the  Masonian  patent  and  as  appears  by  the 
records  of  the  Masonian  Proprietors,  a  company  of  wealthy 
Portsmouth  gentlemen  who    had   some  time  before   bought 
of  Mason's  heirs  their  interest  in  the  land  covered  by  the  Ma- 
sonian patent,  at  a  meeting  holden  in  Portsmouth  April  27th 
1749  the  Township  now  called   AYaketield,    but  then  known 
as  East  Town  was  granted  by  vote  to    John  Ham ,   Gershom 
Downs,  John  Horn  and  seventy-six  others  all   described  as 
being  residents  of  Dover  and  Somersworth  with  the   one  ex- 


43 

ception  of  Noah  Emery  of  Kittery  Maine.  By  the  terms 
of  this  grant  the  land  was  divided  into  one  hundred  shares 
and  each  lot  of  land  was  to  contain  when  surveyed  one 
hundred  acres.  Further  provisions  and  conditions  on  which 
the  grant  was  made  were  that  one  of  the  shares  should  be 

C? 

for  the  first  minister  of  the  Gospel  who  might  be  settled  in 
in  the  town  and  continue  here  during  his  life  or  until  regular- 
ly dismissed.  That  another  of  said  shares  should  be  for  the 
support  of  the  Gospel  Ministry ,  that  the  one  hundred  acre 
lots  belonging  to  these  shares  should  be  laid  out  as  near  the 
place  where  the  meeting-house  might  be  built  as  may  be 
conveniently  done.  That  there  be  six  acres  of  land  left  in 
some  convenient  place  for  building  a  meeting-house  and 
school-house  upon,  and  to  be  used  as  a  training  field,  a 
burying  place  or  other  public  uses  as  the  inhabitants  may 
have  occasion  to  improve  it  tor.  That  one  other  of  said 
shares  shall  be  for  the  use  and  maintainance  of  a  school  for- 
ever. It  was  farther  provided  that  the  grantees  should  set- 
tle thirty  families  in  town  within  four  years  after  the  close 
of  the  war  then  raging  between  the  English,  and  the  French 
and  Indians,  each  family  to  have  a  house  at  least  sixteen 
feet  square  and  three  acres  of  land  cleared  and  fitted  for 
mowing  and  tillage,  and  that  ten  more  families  should  be 
settled  by  the  end  of  five  years  from  the  close  of  the  war 
and  that  within  six  years  from  the  declaration  of  Peace  a 
meeting-house  should  be  built  .and  that  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  should  be  maintained  from  the  end  of  seven  years. 
It  appears  further  from  the  Masonian  records  which  are  in 
the  custody  of  the  descendants  of  the  last  proprietor's  Clerk 
.at  Portsmouth,  that  the  lots  were  drawn  in  Portsmouth  at 
Ann  Slayton's  Inn,  April  11,  1750.  Out  of  the  seventy- 
nine  who  received  the  grant  of  the  town  I  find  less  than  a 
dozen  whose  family  name  is  the  same  with  that  of  any  of 
the  old  settlers  here.  I  doubt  if  half  a  dozen  ever  settled 
here.  I  recognize  in  the  list  many  who  were  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago  prominent  in  Dover  and  Somers worth. 
Among  them  was  Col.  Paul  Gerrish  who  was  in  his  time 


44 

a  foremost  man  in  Dover,  one  so  much  revered  and  honored 
that  when  he  died,  his  Pastor  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Gushing 
says  that  near  one  thousand  persons  attended  his  funeral. 
These  men  purchased  the  town  not  for  settlement  them- 
selves but  for  speculation,  and  this  leads  me  to  say  that  the 
makeup  of  this  town  was  essentially  different  from  that  of 
the  Massachusetts  towns  and  even  the  older  towns  of  south- 
ern New  Hampshire.  This  difference  was  partly  the  result 
of  the  more  recent  time  when  the  first  settlement  was  made 
here  and  partly  of  the  different  causes  which  brought  our 
Fathers  here.  In  Massachusetts,  in  Hampton,  Dover,  Exe- 
ter and  Derry  the  town  and  church  were  coincident.  Ports- 
mouth was  an  exception  because  the  headquarters  of  the 
Provincial  government  was  there  and  of  course  the  English 
Church  thus  early  had  a  foothold  and  somewhat  disputed 
the  ground  with  the  Puritans.  Neither  in  this  nor  any  oth- 
er town  in  New  Hampshire  settled  in  the  last  half  of  the  last 
century  were  church  and  town  coincident,  and  church  mem- 
bership was  never  here  made  a  prerequisite  for  holding  civ- 
il office  as  was  the  case  at  one  time  in  Massachusetts.  The 
first  settlers  did  not  come  here  for  greater  freedom  of  wor- 
ship. They  were  not  English  emigrants  fleeing  from  the 
persecution  of  a  State  church,  but  they  were  the  hardy,  ad- 
venturous young  and  middle  aged  men  from  the  older  towns 
of  the  Province  where  they  and  their  Fathers  for  more  than 
a  hundred  years  had  enjoyed  all  the  religious  freedom  that 
Brewster  and  the  Plymouth  colony  or  Winthrop  and  his 
followers  hoped  for  or  desired  when  they  first  set  foot  on 
New  England  soil ;  and  while  the  acts  of  the  first  settlers 
here  in  setting  up  public  worship  and  maintaining  the  or- 
dinances of  the  church  attest  their  loyalty  to  the  Christian 
faith  as  held  by  the  early  settlers  of  New  England,  their 
primary  object  in  coming  here  I  imagine,  was  to  better 
their  worldly  condition.  Dover,  Exeter,  Hampton,  Ports- 
mouth, and  Newbury  after  they  had  been  settled  one  hun- 
dred years  seemed  to  the  active  young  men  of  1760  to  be 
getting  thickly  peopled.  The  best  of  the  pine  and  the  oak 


45 

had  been  cut  down.  With  succeeding  generations  and  in- 
creasing numbers  the  farms  had  been  divided  and  subdivid- 
ed until  the  young  and  enterprising  turned  their  thoughts 
to  newer  lands  and  to  what  seemed  broader  and  easier  ave- 
nues to  wealth.  The  Masonian  proprietors  were  surveying 
their  lands  in  this  region  and  offering  them  for  sale.  Vis- 
ions of  wealth  loomed  up  to  some  from  the  pine  forests  of 
the  Salmon  Falls  and  Saco  valleys,  to  others  the  thought 
of  possessing  broad  acres  and  founding  a  new  estate  was  a 
fascination,  and  so  the  young  and  stalwart  from  the  older 
settlements  below  us  came  and  settled  this  town  and  found- 
ed this  church.  Now  while  all  the  early  settlers  here  were 
not  sample  Pilgrims  like  Brewster  and  Bradford  at  Plymouth 
nor  Puritans  like  Winthrop  and  Endicott  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  they  had  all  been  trained  more  or  less  in  Puritan  ways 
and  were  so  far  as  we  can  tell  by  the  church  records  in  the 
towns  whence  they  came  hither  the  baptized  children  of  the 
church.  Not  a  man  of  them  but  reverenced  the  ways  of  re- 
ligion as  it  had  been  taught  to  them.  They  reverenced  the 
Sanctuary  and  were  in  their  place  there  on  the  Sabbath. 
They  were  generally  deeply  religious  men  and  women,  and 
so  at  an  early  day,  as  soon  as  they  were  strong  enough  in 
numbers,  a  minister  was  settled  and  a  church  formed.  Our 
Fathers  were  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  their  first  relig- 
ious teacher.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Piper's  settlement  here 
you  are  aware  that  the  minister  was  the  most  important 
person  in  the  town.  No  one  else  approached  him  in  digni- 
ty or  influence.  He  always  had  the  opportunity,  if  he  pos- 
sessed the  requisite  character  and  force  of  intellect,  to  mould 
the  sentiment  of  his  parish  greatly  to  his  liking.  I  think 
from  all  I  can  learn  from  those  now  living  who  remember 
him  well  that  Mr.  Piper  was  never  an  aggressive  man  and 
he  was  the  farthest  remove  from  a  domineering  parson,  but 
he  came  here  well  fitted  by  nature  and  .education  to  exer- 
cise a  lasting  and  most  happy  influence  upon  the  town  and 
he  did  it  in  a  gentle  and  effective  way.  He  was  large  of 
stature,  of  a  good  presence,  dignified  in  his  bearing  always, 


46 

a  model  of  propriety  on  all  occasions.  So  far  as  I  can  learn, 
no  one  ever  charged  him  with  indiscretion  of  word  or  mien. 
He  was  fortunate  in  his  lineage,  for,  as  you  have  been  told 
to-day,  he  came  of  sound  English  stock.  He  was  equally 
fortunate  in  the  place  of  his  birth  and  in  the  time  and  events 
amid  which  his  childhood  was  passed.  It  is  good  fortune 
to  any  one  to  have  been  born  in  old  Middlesex,  in  the 
shadow  of  Bunker  Hill  in  sight  of  the  fields  of  Concord  or 
the  Lexington  meadows  ;  anywhere  in  the  fields  and  man- 
sions of  old  Middlesex.  Nowhere  in  the  old  thirteen  colo- 
nies was  there  more  intelligent  love  and  daring  for  indepen- 
dence than  in  Middlesex  county  and  nowhere  was  the  pat- 
riotic feeling  more  intense  than  in  the  quiet  town  of  Acton 
where  Mr.  Piper  was  born  and  reared.  It  was  the  Acton 
minute  men  who  at  daybreak  on  the  19th  day  of  April 
1775  "crowded  at  the  drum  beat  to  the  house  of  Isaac  Da- 
vis their  captain  who  made  haste  to  be  ready."  Later  in 
the  day  this  Acton  company  formed  on  the  right  of  the  line 
at  the  old  north  bridge  at  Concord  and  it  was  this  company 
that  received  the  first  volley  from  the  British  regulars  in 
the  battle  of  that  day  by  which  their  captain  and  Abner 
Hosmer  a  son  of  one  of  the  deacons  in  the  church  in  Acton 
fell  dead,  and  before  night  the  son  of  another  deacon,  James 
Hayward,  had  fallen  while  pursuing  the  British  army  in 
their  retreat  to  Boston.  Mr.  Piper  was  not  in  this  service 
and  he  may  have  been  at  the  University  at  Cambridge 
where  he  was  then  a  student.  But  doubtless  he  directly 
after  passed  up  the  high  road  to  Concord,  the  route  taken 
by  the  British  army  on  the  19th  of  April,  on  the  way  to 
the  funeral  of  his  father's  neighbors  who  had  fallen  at  Con- 
cord. On  the  road  he  might  have  seen  the  spot  where 
Haynes,  a  deacon  of  the  church  in  Sudbury,  fell  at  the  age 
of  eighty  years  while  fighting  the  British  in  their  retreat 
through  Lexington,  and  the  thickets  and  stone  walls  at  the 
high  land  in  Lincoln  where  the  Americans  made  such  havoc 
in  the  ranks  of  the  retreating  English,  and  captured  their 
leader,  Major  Pitcairn,  he  must  have  observed,  and  doubt- 


47 

less  he  was  one  of  that  concourse  of  neighbors  from  miles 
around  who  followed  to  the  village  graveyard  in  Acton  the 
remains  of  Davis  and  Hosmer .  and  others  of  his  father's 
neighbors  and  some  of  them  perhaps  his  kinsmen  who  had 
fallen  in  that  first  day's  fight  for  civil  liberty  to  the  colonies. 
While  a  student  at  Cambridge  he  must  have  heard  the  im- 
passioned appeals  of  Samuel  Adams  and  Warren  in  the  old 
South  Meeting  House  in  Boston.  Hancock  must  have  been 
a  familiar  figure  to  him  for  he  was  much  in  Cambridge  in 
those  days  and  perhaps  he  saw  Washington  draw  his  sword 
under  the  ancient  elm  in  Cambridge  and  very  likely  he 
heard  Jeremy  Belknap,  then  the  minister  at  Dover,  as  he 
preached  to  the  army  in  the  streets  of  Cambridge.  These 
scenes  and  the  high  companionship  of  patriots  and  martyrs 
for  the  cause  of  civil  liberty  moulded  our  first  pastor  greatly 
for  his  whole  future  life  ;  and  you  do  not  wonder  when  I 
tell  you  that  those  who  knew  him  best  here  recall  that  he 
always  took  a  lively  interest  in  public  affairs,  that  he  always 
had  strong  political  feeling,  that  he  loved  the  discussion  of 
public  measures  before  the  country  for  the  time  being. 
He  was  never  a  politician.  His  clerical  office  and  his  ele- 
vated views  saved  him  from  that  fate.  -Like  most  of  the 
Congregational  clergy  of  his  time  he  was  a  Federalist  hold- 
ing Washington  in  the  highest  veneration,  a  firm  believer 
in  the  policy  of  Hamilton  and  Adams,  and  dsiliking  the  no- 
tion of  Jefferson  and  dreading  the  influence  of  his  views  on 
questions  of  public  policy  because  in  connection  with  his  as- 
sociates in  the  ministry  he  thought  him  a  deist  and  perhaps 
an  atheist  and  that  the  success  of  his  party  foreboded  a  rep- 
etition to  some  extent  at  least  of  the  scenes  of  the  then  re- 
cent French  revolution.  Through  all  his  active  life  I  judge 
Mr.  Piper  was  not  averse,  to  say  the  least,  to  political  dis- 
cussion in  a  quiet  way  when  a  proper  occasion  offered  it- 
self. Sometime  while  the  late  Hon.  Nathaniel  Upham  of 
Rochester,  himself  the  son  of  the  minister  of  Deerfield,  was 
a  member  of  Congress  and  perhaps  about  1820,  Mr.  Upham 
called  early  in  the  day  at  the  store  then  standing  opposite 


48 

the  "Old  Maid's  Tavern"  where  he  found  his  friend  parson 
Piper.  Mr.  Upham  was  fresh  from  a  session  of  Congress 
and  very  soon  he  and  the  minister  were  in  earnest  political 
discussion  which  was  kept  up  till  near  night  when  Mr.  Up- 
ham remarked  that  he  must  be  on  his  way  to  a  store  he  then 
owned,  either  on  Copp's  hill  or  at  Wakefield  corner  I  am 
not  sure  which,  but  that  if  Mr.  Piper  desired  he  would  re- 
new the  discussion  the  next  day  at  his  store.  The  sugges- 
tion was  promptly  accepted  and  the  discussion  went  on  at 
Mr.  Upham's  store  for  two  days  more  in  the  presence  of 
several  of  Mr.  Piper's  neighbors.  Perhaps  no  one  is  now 
living  who  listened  to  this  three  days  of  political  talk,  but 
I  years  ago  had  a  full  account  of  it  from  one  who  listened 
•from  beginning  to  end  of  it,  and  more  recently  upon  enqui- 
ry of  my  lamented  and  venerable  friend  Luther  Dearborn 
Sawyer  who  died  last  year  at  the  age  of  eighty,  he  told  me 
that  he  remembered  perfectly  well  listening  the  last  two 
days  ot  the  discussion. 

Of  the  committee  of  seven  who  signed  the  call  to  Mr. 
Piper  to  settle  in  the  ministry,  one  was  Capt.  Jeremiah 
Gilman  wrho  came  with  his  family  to  Wakefield  perhaps  as 
early  as  1767  and  built  his  house  just  opposite  the  "Old 
Maid's  Tavern"  where  he  lived  up  to  the  time  of  his  death 
in  1791,  his  farm  extending  from  the  highway  westerly  to 
the  river.  This  man  was  born  at  Exeter  June  3rd  1719 
whence  he  removed  to  this  town.  His  father  Andrew  Gil- 
man and  an  uncle  Jeremy  Gilman  were  taken  prisoners  by 
the  Indians  while  at  work  in  a  saw-mill  at  "Pickpocket"  in 
Exeter  in  the  spring  of  1709.  Andrew  eventually  escaped 
from  his  captors  and  returned  home.  Naturally  the  son 
imbibed  some  dislike  to  the  Indians  and  doubtless  the  only 
good  Indian  to  him  was  a  dead  Indian.  At  any  rate  he  was 
an  Indian  fighter  and  a  captain  in  the  old  French  and  Indian 
war.  He  marched  armed  with  gun  and  sword,  adopting 
largely  the  Indian  methods  of  fighting.  Among  the  inci- 
dents of  his  soldier  life  he  used  to  relate  that  at  one  time, 
exhausted  by  the  heat,  and  protracted  fighting  he  quenched 


49 

his  thirst  by  drinking  from  a  pool  ol  water  reddened  by  the 
blood  of  the  combatants.  In  1777,  when  the  descent  of 
Burgoyne's  army  upon  New  York  was  imminent,  he  raised 
a  company  here,  joined  Stark's  forces  and  took  part  in  the 
battle  of  Bennington.  At  this  time  he  was  fifty-eight  years 
of  age,  and  his  wife  claiming  that  he  had  done  his  part  as  a 
soldier  endeavored  to  persuade  him  not  to  again  enter  the 
service,  but  on  a  July  afternoon  the  little  company  was 
formed  in  front  of  the  captain's  house,  the  captain  stepping 
ii»  front  said  "Come  on  boys"  and  all  hands  started  down 
the  road  on  the  double  quick,  bivouacked  that  night  in  a 
barn  in  Rochester  and  marched  thence  to  Exeter  where 
they  joined  Gen.  Stark's  forces.  After  a  desperate  fight  of 
two  hours  at  Bennington  the  British  intrenchments  were 
carried,  Gilman  being  as  his  soldiers  said  the  second  man 
to  follow  Stark  over  the  breastworks  of  the  enemy  where  a 
hand  to  hand  conflict  was  terminated  by  the  utter  rout  of 
the  enemy.  This  Capt.  Gilman  with  his  cousin  Lieut.  Jon- 
athan Gilman  are  I  suppose  the  two  Gilmans  who  are.  men- 
tioned in  a  memorandum  found  among  Mr.  Piper's  papers 
as  the  first  families  that  wintered  in  town.  Jonathan  set- 
tled on  the  old  main  road  from  Wakefield  to  Milton  nearly 
opposite  the  house  of  the  late  John  Kimball.  His  descend- 
ants for  three  generations  have  owned  and  occupied  the 
farm  where  his  great-grandson  Jonathan  R.  Gilman  now 
resides  on  the  road  from  Union  Village  to  Brookfield. 
These  men  reckoned  their  descent  from  three  of  our  Colo- 
nial governors — Gov.  Andrew  Wiggin,  Gov.  Simon  Brad- 
street,  and  Gov.  Thomas  Dudley.  The  man  of  the  most 
prominence  in  civil  affairs  in  the  early  days  of  the  town  was 
Capt.  David  Copp  who  lived  where  Hon.  John  W.  Sanborn 
now  resides.  Coming  here  early  from  Rochester  he  seems 
for  many  years  to  have  been  the  central  figure  in  the  man- 
agement of  public  affairs.  In  wealth,  social  standing,  and 
in  influence  he  was  the  first  man  in  the  town.  There  was 
no  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people  he  did  not  enjoy,  and 
there  was  no  call  of  his  country  that  he  was  not  among  the 


50 

foremost  to  obey.  He  was  in  command  of  a  company  at 
the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  Andrew  Oilman  was  his  first 
lieutenant.  He  was  perhaps  continuously  in  service  to  the 
close  of  the  Revolution.  Avery  Hall  one  of  the  first  dea- 
cons of  this  church  was  a  native  of  Wallingford,  Connecti- 
cut, a  graduate  of  Yale  college  in  1759  and  pastor  of  the 
church  in  Rochester  from  1766  to  1775.  Shortly  after  his 
dismission  from  the  Rochester  church  he  removed  to  this 
town  and  lived  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  John  Kimball 
where  he  died  at  the  age  of  82  in  1820.  At  Rochester,  as 
the  church  records  show,  there  was  anything  but  harmony 
between  him  and  some  of  his  church.  For  years  the  rec- 
ords allude  to  the  pending  strife  and  at  last  a  large  council 
of  the  neighboring  churches  very  reluctantly,  apparently, 
recommended  a  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation  in  a  very 
lengthy  and  elaborate  report,  but  so  adroitly  drawn  as 
most  effectually  to  conceal  the  reasons  of  the  council,  if 
they  had  any,  for  the  conclusion  reached.  The  truth  was 
as  I  know  from  a  most  trustworthy  source  that  Mr.  Hall 
was  in  no  fault  at  all,  but  a  female  member  of  his  church 
who  was  a  Scotch  Presbyterian  had  conceived  the  notion 
that  Mr.  Hall  was  not  as  thoroughly  Calvinistic  as  he  ought 
to  be,  and  being  joined  by  a  few  others  persisted  in  her  op- 
position to  him  until  the  neighboring  churches  were  induced 
for  the  sake  of  peace  to  recommend  his  dismission.  After 
coming  to  this  town  Mr.  Hall  was  much  employed  as  a 
magistrate  and  was  in  his  latter  years  known  as  Esquire 
Hall.  He  saw  much  trouble  here,  his  faithful  daughter 
Sally,  always  the  light  of  the  home  and  the  aged  father's 
main  dependence  after  the  mother's  death,  sickened  and 
died,  his  house  was  burned,  and  in  his  last  years  his  means 
were  quite  limited,  but  he  died  as  he  had  lived  a  good  man 
held  in  high  esteem  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Perhaps  no  family  is  oftener  spoken  of  or  held  in  higher 
esteem  by  us  than  the  Dow  family,  and  I  am  quite  sure  none 
have  done  more  for  the  religious  and  educational  welfare  of 
the  town  than  Deacon  Richard  Dow  one  of  the  original 


51 

members  of  this  church,  to  whom  fitting  reference  has  been 
made  to-day,  and  his  descendants.  Of  the  recent  benefac- 
tions made  here  by  his  grand-children  I  may  not  speak  in 
this  presence,  but  I  may  properly  remind  you  that  his  son 
Josiah  Dow  then  a  leading  merchant  of  Boston  in  1815  at 
his  own  expense  built  upon  his  father's  farm  a  building, 
and  established  the  Dow  Academy  which  continued  in  op- 
eration till  about  1820.  Josiah  Dow  was  a  man  in  high  bus- 
iness and  social  position.  He  took  an  active  interest  in  the 
success  of  the  school,  and  youth  of  both  sexes  from  the  sur- 
rounding country  as  well  as  from  Boston,  Salem,  and  the 
large  towns  of  southern  New  Hampshire  filled  the  school- 
rooms. An  ample  teaching  force  of  the  best  grade  was  pro- 
vided by  Mr.  Dow  and  the  Academy  while  it  continued  en- 
joyed a  reputation  hardly  second  to  any  in  the  state.  It 
has  been  my  good  fortune  to  know  several  venerable  men 
now  dead,  who  were  once  students  at  Dow  Academy. 
They  were  already  advanced  in  years  when  I  first  talked 
with  them,  men  learned  in  their  professions,  examples  of 
good  breeding  and  of  high  character.  These  men  never 
tired  of  talking  of  their  days  spent  at  Dow  Academy  and 
there  was  no  praise  too  high  for  them  to  bestow  on  its  teach- 
ers and  founder.  They  not  only  remembered  the  excel- 
lence of  the  work  done  daily  in  the  large  class-room  but  they 
delighted  to  dwell  on  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  exhibi- 
tion days,  which  the  Founder  always  attended  and  when 
they  had  martial  music  and  a  procession.  The  Academy 
was  dedicated  Nov.  6,  1815  when  Mr.  Dow  delivered  the 
address.  Rev.  Andrew  Thayer  was  the  first  preceptor. 
In  1819  Mr.  Adam  Gordon,  Miss  Rebecca  Phippen  and 
Miss  Eliza  Bailey  were  the  teachers,  and  at  one  time  the 
late  Hon.  John  Aiken  of  Andover,  Mass.,  was  a  preceptor. 

And  so  we  recount  the  work  of  a  few  of  that  company 
who  a  hundred  years  ago  to-day  witnessed  the  settlement  of 
the  town's  first  religious  teacher  near  the  spot  where  many  of 
them  with  that  pastor  lie  buried.  They  meant  to  build 
well  their  little  commonwealth.  It  was  the  town  they 


52 

founded  just  a  little  more  than  a  century  ago  but  it  was 
not  complete  nor  did  it  in  any  way  satisfy  them  till  just  a 
hundred  years  ago  this  beautiful  day  they  had  founded  a 
church  and  settled  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  I  trust  that 
ere  long  the  story  of  their  lives  may  take  shape  in  a  town 
history,  and  that  proper  memorial  stones  may  mark  the 
place  of  the  old  meeting-house  and  the  grave  of  their  pas- 
tor. 


The  following  Notes  will  guide  some  in  our  picturing  of  the  early 
settlers  already  mentioned. — A.  H.  T. 

1.  Lt.  Jona.  Oilman  of  Exeter— the  first  settler  in  1767  at  the  age  of  47;  in  1774, 
53;  in  1785,  (X— served  as  Moderator  and  second  Selectman  in  1777. 

2.  Cap't.  Jere,  Oilman,  his  cousin,  at  about  the  same  date  and  age,  was  a  war- 
rior.   Andrew,  Ca+)t.  Copp's  Lt.,  was  his  son. 

3.  John  Horn,  third  settler,  perhaps  in  1768,  in  age  not  far  from  30,  one  of  the 
lew  original  proprietors  who  settled  in  the  township.    Born  in  Dover  and   died  in 
1830  at  91,  the  oldest  person  in  town.    He  lived  on  Witch-trot  road  in  "Goudy  field." 

4.  Benj.  Perkins,  from  Dover  Point,  settled  early  on  what  is  now  the  home  place 
of  Noah  Kimball  Nutter.    Much  interested  in  the  improving  of  the  burying-ground. 

5  John  Kimball,  of  Exeter,  younger  brother  of  Jona.  Oilman's  wife,  when  27 
bought  in  1768  Lot  40,  since  owned  by  a  son,  Ward  W.  Third  Selectman  in  1776. 
He  died  about  1806.  His  brother  (younger) 

6.  Noah  Kimball,  son-in-law  of  Jere.  Oilman,  living  in  East  Town,  bought  the 
next  lot  38  in  1770  when  26;  first  of  2d  Selectmen,  1774;    father  of  "Master   John". 
Died  in  1810  at  6(i. 

7.  Capt.  David  Copp  (1738— 1817)  came  from  Rochester  before  1770  when  perhaps 
30  years  old;  46  when  Mr. Piper  came;  first  Moderator  at  35,  and  for  most  of  the 
next  15  yeais  divided  that  honor  with 

8.  Simeon  Dearborn  (1727 — 1787)  who  came  from  Greenland  before  1770.     He  was 
also  Justice  of  the  Peace.    His  wife's  brother,  John  Haven,  came  later  and  was  an 
extensive  land  owner.    Josiah  Page  bought  of  Simeon  Dearborn  in  Sept.  1773,  and 
lived  near  him.    David  Copp,  William   Moore,  first  constable,   Daniel    Hall  and 
John  Kimball,  first  school  committee.    '79  Jos.  Leavitt  bought  Haven's  house  (op- 
posite Dearborn's)  for  a  tavern. 

9.  Joseph  Maleham  (1743—1816)  first  3d  Selectman  at  31  in  1774. 

10.  John  Wingate  3d  and  2d  Selectman  six  or  seven  years  after  1780. 

11.  Lt.  after  Col.  Jona.  Palmer  was  younger  than  these  but  became  later  quite  a 
prominent  Federalist  in  the  town  and  state.  (1751—1843) 

12.  Nath'l  Balch,  first  Deputy  in  Prov.  Cong,  at  Exeter  from  Wakefield   in  1775. 
He  seems  to  have  lived  between  John  Horn  on  the  west  and  on  the  east  on  Witch- 
trot  road  EliphaletQuimby, the  lather  of  [13.]  Dorothy— first  child.    From  Exeter 
1767. 

14.  Jacob  Wiggin  and  [15.]  Nathan  Mordougb,  from  Greenland,  served  on  the 
board  of  Selectmen  in  early  years.  Also 

16.  Sam'l  Hall  who  with  his  brother  Dan'l  Hall  came  early  and  was  a  land  own- 
er living  near  now  A.  S.  Weeks'.    Dan'l  lived  about  opposite  N  Batch's 

17.  A  very  Hall  (1737— 1820)  came  near  1776.    Town  clerk  for  ten  years  after  John 
Horn.    Also  first  Selectman  '79  to  '87,  and  a  leader  in  the  organizing  of  the  church. 
Lived  on  site  of  Kimball  Hotel. 

18.  Mayhew  Clark  of  North  Hampton  bought  of  Oapt.  Copp  in  Lot  15  con  Tut- 
tle's  Hill)  in  May  1772.    3<1  Selectman  1781  to  '84;  2d  in  1780  and  '85,  and  probably 
died  in  office,  February  1786. 

The  male  church  members  in  order  of  age  wero 

19.  Samuel  Haines,  69,  the  oldest,  (1716)  fourth   by  descent  from  Dea.  Samuel 
Hsiines  (England  1611)  of  the  First  Church  in  Portsmouth  and  one  of  its  nine  origi- 


inal  members,  like  his  great  grandson  here  in  1785.     Not  his  but  his  son's  wife 
joined  the  next  year. 
Simeon  Dearborn,  57;  Avery  Hall,  47;  Mayhew  Clark,  perhaps  S8. 

20.  Richard  Dow  il~53— 1835)  32.  the  youngest,  came  about  1780  from  Kensington ; 
later  Deacon  and  the  last  survivor  of  the  little  band  of  1785  fifty  years  after,  when 
he  died  some  three  months  before  the  minister 

21.  Rev.  ASA  PIPER,  only  27, 

born  in  Acton,  Muss.,  Mar.  7, 1757,  and  died  at  Wakefleld,  May  19, 1885,  at  78. 


Mr.  George  S.  Dorr,  editor  of  the  Carroll  County  Pio- 
neer, at  Wolfeboro'  Junction,  the  latest  addition  to  the  vil- 
lages of  Waketield,  was  asked  to  furnish  a  poem  for  the 
occasion,  but  owing  to  press  of  other  business  at  the  time, 
was  unable  to  do  so.  The  following  lines,  however,  which 
appeared  in  the  Pioneer  as  a  part  of  Mr.  Dorr's  report  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  day,  the  compiler  deems  fitting  and 
proper  to  give  a  place  in  this  work,  and  therefore,  with  per- 
mission, here  inserts  them  : 

Behind  the  dusty  bars  of  time 

Is  rung  to-day  a  century's  chime; 

A  century  dim,  with  all  it  holds, 

To-day  the  grasping-  past  enfolds. 

We  bid  you  all  remember  well 

The  struggles  none  may  fully  tell, 

Of  Parson  Piper  and  the  few, 

Who  "builded  better  than  they  knew". 

O'er  these  hills  their  feet  have  trod, 

Their  ancient  plows  upturned  this  sod; 

They  builded  homes,  they  churches  raised, 

vVithiu  whose  walls  their  God  they  praised. 

A  century  old — this  church  and  town 

Outlasts  many  a  gilded  crown; 

To-day  we  place  a  golden  star 

Within  Time's  swift  revolving  car. 

A  golden  clasp — this  bright  To-day — 

Binds  two  centuries  on  our  way ; 

Behind  we  hear  a  last  faint  chime 

Mingle  with  that  of  coming  time. 

And  may  we,  who  stand  to-day, 

Where  stood  those  long  passed  away, 

Leave  a  record  bright  and  pure, 

Which,  like  theirs,  shall  long  endure. 


54 

The  compiler  regrets  his  inability  to  present  the  pleasing 
address  of  fellowship  of  the  next  speaker,  Rev.  Wm.  Lloyd 
Himes,  of  the  Episcopal  Church  at  Wolfeboro'  Junction, 
but  as  he  has  received  none  of  it  for  publication,  the  omis- 
sion is  unavoidable,  and  he  passes  on  to  the  address  of  Rev. 
Gardner  S.  Butler  of  Union  Village.  Mr.  Butler  said  : 

I  have  reason  to  hold  this  church  in  grateful  esteem  since  it 
is  my  privilege  to  care  for  her  youngest  daughter.  Though  small, 
she  is  a  precious  child,  destined,  I  trust,  to  prove  a  blessing  to  the 
world,  and  an  honor  to  her  from  whom  she  sprang.  I  also  count 
it  a  favor  to  be  here  that  I  may  receive  an  inspiration  from  the 
past.  As  we  have  heard  recounted  the  noble  work,  wrought  un- 
der difficulties  by  those  who  have  preceded  us,  who  has  not  received 
a  fresh  impulse  to  high  endeavor?  It  was  not  in  other  lands,  but 
here;  not  amid  extraordinary  scenes,  but  in  the  comiron  walks  of 
life,  that  our  fathers  lived  and  labored.  Therefore,  the  history  of 
their  lives  is  more  useful  to  us.  The  inspiring  power  of  this  day 
upon  us  is  a  reminder  that  we,  too,  may  yet  be  an  inspiration  to 
those  who  shall  take  the  places  we  now  fill.  A  review  of  the  past 
ought  to  arouse  within  us  the  spirit  of  gratitude.  By  hard  labor 
did  our  fathers  fell  the  forest  and  plant  in  its  place  the  trees  whose 
fruit  we  now  enjoy.  Our  most  essential  blessings  were  left  us  by 
those  who  have  gone  before.  We  may  select  from  what  has  been 
given  us,  and  improve  what  we  select;  but  we  do  not  originate  that 
which  is  most  useful  to  us.  It  will  take  another  general  ion  to  make 
useful  what  we  create.  The  food  we  gather,  unaided  bx  those  who 
precede  us,  is  but  manna.  It  is  only  when  death  has  driven  out 
the  inhabitants  whose  place  we  take,  that  we  eat  the  "Old  corn  of 
tli3  land."  If  disposed  to  boast  of  the  high  position  we  now  occu- 
py, a  glance  downward  over  the  past  will  reveal  the  fact  that  ouv 
ascent  has  been  reached  by  steps  our  fathers  laid.  As  well  might 
the  top  stone  of  a  pyramid  boast  over  the  stones  that  support  it. 
They  build  unwisely  who  cast  aside  certain  great  foundation  stones 
which  have  proved  so  secure  in  the  past,  or  who  undertake  to  trim 
the  corners  of  those  stones  and  thus  make  them  insecure  to  build 
upon.  There  is  apparent  in  the  attitude  of  some  among  us  a  pur- 
pose to  cast  away,  or  so  change  as  to  render  useless,  some  01  the 
essential  principles  which  our  fathers  taught.  If  unchecked,  the 
sad  results  of  such  teaching  must  in  time  appear,  The  rough  stones 
of  Orthodoxy  used  by  our  fathers  may  need  to  be  srnoot  hed  ;  but 
to  round  and  polish  them  until  they  bear  the  name  "Progressive 
Orthodoxy"  will  only  serve  to  make  them  unfit  for  use.  It  is  only 
a  question  of  time  when  it  shall  be  said  of  a  church  built  on  such  a 


55 

foundation,  "Great  was  the  fall  of  it."  Hard  as  it  might  be  for 
some  of  us  to  accept  every  doctrinal  statement  of  the  "Westmin- 
ster Catechism",  it  is  far  better  than  a  creed  tinctured  with  the 
teaching  of  the  "New  Departure."  The  character  formed  by  the 
teaching  of  this  and  other  old  New  England  churches  must  secure 
the  respect  of  all  who  love  right  principles.  Fill  the  leading  pul- 
pits and  chief  political  positions  of  our  country  with  men  of  the 
Puritanic  stamp  of  character  and  our  nation  would  have  a  great 
moral  and  general  uplift. 


Then  was  sung  the  anthem  "Jerusalem  my  happy  home",  after 
which  Rev.  Sumner  Clark  was  called  upon.  His  address  was  main- 
ly in  the  line  of  reminiscences.  He  alluded  to  the  fact  that  his 
first  visit  to  Wakefield  was  during  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Leffingwell. 
At  that  time  he  attended  the  meeting  of  the  old  Harmony  Asso- 
ciation, and  preached  in  this  house  in  the  evening.  His  connection 
with  former  ministers  had  been  somewhat  peculiar.  To  borrow 
the  language  of  Mr.  Tappan,  sustaining  to  him,  at  Marshfield  and 
Wakefield,  the  relation  of  "successor,  predecessor  and  successor." 
Rev.  Mr.  Barker  was  referred  to  as  affording  valuable  aid  in  social 
services,  particularly  the  Missionary  Concert.  At  the  close  of  his 
remarks  Mr.  Clark  read  the  following,  suggesting  that  "perhaps 
it  might  turn  out  a  song,  perhaps  turn  out  a  sermon". 

Ecc.  7  -10 — Say  notthou,  what  is  the  cause  that  the  former  days  were  better  than 
these?  forthou  dost  not  inquire  wisely  concerning  this, 

"  'Tis  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view." 

Thus  wrote  the  Poet,  and  how  clearly  true. 

The  far  remote  in  space  is  deemed  most  fair, 

The  far  remote  in  time  exceeding  rare. 

One  only  Paradise  on  earth  we  trace 

At  the  commencement  of  the  human  race. 

So  in  the  pristine  eras  there  were  found 

Both  giant  men,  and  mammoth  beast,  renowned. 

Then,  too,  bv  ancient  records  it  appears, 

Some  stretched  their  lives  almost  a  thousand  years. 

Still,  when  we  further  read  of  murd'rpus  Cain, 

And  ruin  dire  on  cities  of  the  plain, 

Of  piagues  inflicted  by  a  righteous  God, 

Of  tongues  confounded,  and  o'erwhelming  flood, 

Of  wars  and  exiles,  and  the  many  ills 

With  which  all  history  its  dark  pages  tills, 

Strange  would  it  be  if  any  should  deplore 

They  did  not  live  in  those  same  days  of  yore. 

But  coming  nearer  to  the  present  time, 

And  leaving  distant  lands  for  our  own  clime, 

'Tis  no  hard  task  to  show  that  by-gone  days 

Were  not  entitled  to  superior  praise. 


Among  the  forests  dense,  all  rough  and  wild, 
Here  careless  lived  free  Nature's  rougher  child ; 
Of  savage  habits,  and  of  hideous  mien, 
And  mind  more  dark,  the  Indian  might  be  seen. 
True  worship  they  had  none,  Dut,  as  they  saw 
In  elements  around  some  "higher  law", 
Ascribed  the  rule  of  all  beneath  the  skies, 
To  a  celestial  Spirit  great  and  wise, 
Whose  angry  frown  in  s'.orms  and  winds  appear, 
His  smiling  face  in  waters  bright  and  clear. 
At  length  by  force  of  jealousy  and  war, 
The  different  tribes  were  scattered  wide  and  far. 
Yet  not  henceforth  to  desolation  drear 
Was  left  this  spot  so  fraught  with  beauty's  cheer. 
Another  race,  with  resolution  strong 
To  guard  the  right,  and  overthrow  the  wrong, 
Here  built  their  dwellings,  and  with  patient  toil, 
The  forests  cleared,  and  subdued  the  soil. 
Foundations  laid  with  energy  and  zeal, 
Both  for  their  civil  and  religious  weal. 
But,  turning  now  to  this  our  goodly  town, 
And  noting  well  the  objects  of  renown, 
But  few  of  all  the  varied  things  now  seen 
Remind  of  former  days  and  ways  I  w«'en. 
True,  the  same  hills  stand  on  their  lasting  base, 
And  like  silvery  waters  flow  apace. 
All  else  how  changed,  with  little  to  denote 
How  looked  this  region  in  the  days  remote. 
.Where  once  the  tangled  wood  extensive  spread 
We  find  the  fruitful  orchard  in  its  stead. 
The  hunting  ground  long  since  was  made  to  yield 
To  flowery  yard  and  cultivated  fieid. 
The  cosilv  mansion  and  the  cottage  neat, 
Which  in  due  order  line  each  pleasant  street, 
The  stores  and  shops  around  the  busy  mart, 
Churches  and  schools  adorned  by  works  of  art, 
Succeed  the  smnky  wigwam  frail  and  low, 
A  simple  shelter  from  the  rain  and  snow. 
By  spotted  trees  o'er  tedious  trail  and  drear, 
The  natives  moved,  of  lurking  foes  in  fear. 
In  open  space,  and  safely  on  we  press 
By  rapid  cars  or  the  more  staid  express. 
They  posted  news  by  the  swift  runner's  speed, 
We  chain  our  message  to  a  lightning  steed, 
And  might  a  confab  hold  with  king  or  queen 
While  surging  ocean  rolls  between. 
Thus  great  the  outward  contrast  brought  to  view 
As  we  impressions  of  the  past  renew. 
In  short,  they  plodded  on  as  in  a  dream, 
We,  wide  awake,  rush  through  the  world  by  stearr . 
Nor  are  the  vast  improvement-*  of  our  day, 
Attracting  notice  by  their  wide  display, 
Confined  to  things  alone  of  earthly  kind, 
But  have  to  do  with  training  of  the  mind, 
With  plans  for  doing  good,  and  scattering  light 
Through  all  the  different  realms  of  moral  night, 


57 

Gathering  recruits  for  Zion's  holy  war, 
Sending  the  gospel  to  the  nations  far. 
Truly  we  live  in  an  eventful  age, 
Calling  aloud  that  each  with  zeal  engage 
In  leading  men  in  paths  of  peace  and  love, 
And  make  this  world  resemble  that  above, 
While  to  invite  to  labor,  faith  and  prayer, 
'•Signs  of  l he  times"  in  cheering  forms  declare 
The  downing  of  the  morn  o'er  all  the  land, 
The  promise  sure,  the  victory  near  at  hand. 
So  marvel  not  that  no  regret  we  show, 
We  did  not  live  a  hundred  years  ago. 

Rev.  Daniel  Dana  Tappan  of  Topstield,  Mass.,    could  not 
come,  so  he  sent  for  his  part  the  following,  which  was  read  : 

GREETINGS    TO    THIS  INTERESTED  ASSEMBLAGE  OF    OLD-TIME 
FRIENDS  AND  STRANGERS: 

J  had  no  special  knowledge  of  the  history  of  this  church  prev- 
iously to  my  brief  residence  here;  although  years  before  I  think  I 
saw  the  venerable  pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  Piper;  and  later  had  some  ac- 
quaintance with  Rev.  Mr.  Barker,  having  visited  at  his  house,  and 
also  officiated  at  the  funeral  of  his  excellent  wife.  This  little 
speech  will  refer  to  matters  during  my  sojourn  from  Nov.  1865,  to 
June  1871;  my  ministry  closing  somewhat  earlier.  We  boarded, 
the  whole  time,  at  Capt.  Yeaton's,  and  had  neither  cause,  nor  wish, 
for  a  change;  not  needing,  then,  and  there,  the  charge  given  to 
some  early  disciples:  "6rO  not  thoufrom  house  to  house.1"  Except 
at  one  early  period  of  that  ministry,  tlure  was  no  very  marked  re- 
ligious interest;  nor,  at  that  time,  or  after,  were  there  known  ex- 
tensive happy  results  of  the  brief  interest.  The  Sabbath  congrega- 
tions had  a  fair  representation  of  intelligence,  and  love  of  the  truth. 
For  a  portion  of  the  time,  failing  to  stand,  or  sit,  in  their  lot,  it  fell 
to  the  preacher,  unversed  in  scientific  music,  to  lead  in  the  service 
of  song,  and  I  fear  occasionally  missing  the  right  pitch.  But  the 
people  seemed  to  take  it  comfortably,  as  was  but  just;  as  always, 
when  one  does  as  well  as  he  can.  It  was  curious  (excuse  the  re- 
mark) that  the  preacher,  who  was  expected  to  impart  light,  was 
posted  aloft,  in  about  the  darkest  place  in  the  house.  And,  then, 
the  pulpit  wa*  unphilosophically  and  unsympathisingly  hisfh.  The 
minister  was  thus  set  over  the  people  with  a  witness: — albeit,  some 
of  the  brotherhood  may  be  set  under  now.  A  lawyer  would  have 
but  a  poor  prospect  of  winning  a  case,  himself  perched  so  high,  and 
the  jury  scattered  here  and  there;  not  excepting  a  Choate,  or  a 
Webster.  Happily,  there  was  no  huge  sounding-board,  threatening 
the  preacher's  head,  shoukMt  become  dislodged.  But  this  is  past; 
and  \  on  have  wisely,  and  compassionately,  brought  the  minister 


58 

nearer  to  the  people,  to  their  eyes,  and  ears,  and  hearts;  for  which, 
on  behalf  of  his  successors,  and  in  cos-dial  good  will  to  the  congre- 
gation, this  preacher  gives  you  his  felicitations.  It  was  *  rather 
delicate  thing  to  have  directly  under  the  eye  of  the  speaker,  a  cul- 
tured, somewhat  critical,  and  very  godly,  ex-pastor.  The  relation 
is  a  delicate  one,  usually.  But  the  worthy  Mr.  Barker  decorously 
listened  to  his  somewhat  younger  brother;  and  it  is  due  to  say,  that 
once,  when  the  sermon  adversely  referred  to  a  rather  popular  usage, 
on  descending  from  the  pulpit  he  gave  the  preacher  a  kind  word  of 
approval.  Ministers,  when  called  upon  to  say  unpalatable  things, 
need,  and  may  well  be  grateful  for,  words  of  cheer  from  intelligent, 
appreciating  hearers.  I  give  you  this  gentle  hint  gratis.  Mr.  Bar- 
ker was  ready  to  assist  on  Sacramental  occasions,  and  at  the  Mis- 
sionary Monthly  Concert;  and  he  was  almost  always  present  at  our 
social  meetings,  and  ready  to  help.  WH  had  but  few,  indeed,  to 
take  an  active  part  in  those  meetings,  although  some  true  hearted 
silent  ones  were,  no  doubt,  in  cordial  fellowship.  The  Sabbath 
evening  meetings,  usually,  at  dwelling  houses,  were  cheering  and 
helpful,  as  some  now  present  may  remember;  and  we  used  to  sing 
the  good  old  hymns,  to  the  good  old  tunes,  to  our  hearts'  cojitent, 
as  well  as  we  knew  how.  And,  we  hope,  the  Blessed  Lord  was 
sometimes  with  us,  in  these  peaceful  gatherings.  Our  church 
meetings  were  almost  uniformly  desirable.  The  number  admitted 
to  church-membership  was  very  small.  Not  more  than  five  are  now 
called  to  mind.  But  three  occasions  of  baptism  are  remembered, 
of  adults  or  infants.  One  of  the  infants  was  a  child  of  Mr.  Charles 
and  Mrs.  Abby  Smith;  the  other  was  my  grandson,  George  Fran- 
cis Dow.  On  tin's  occasion  the  baptismal  bowl  could  no)  seasonably 
be  found. — there  not  having  been  an  infant  baptism  for  many  years. 
It  is  hoped  that  things  are  better  now,  if  there  are  any  infants  to 
be  baptized.  \Ve  had  a  happy  little  ireeting,  for  a  while,  of  young 
Misse>.  at  Capt.  Yeaton's  house,  spending  the  time  in  singing,  with 
perhaps  a  brief  exhortation,  and  a  prayer.  The  young  friends 
seemed  to  enjoy  it,  and  it  was  probably  a  bond  of  union  between 
the  pastor  and  those  lambs  of  the  flock.  Some  of  those  fine  girls 
may  be  he-e  present  to-day,  in  their  maturity,  who  will  recall  their 
kind  feeling*  toward  the  pastor,  and  his  affectionate  wife,  now  pass- 
ed to  the  skies.  The  church,  though  few  in  numbers,  had  its  share 
of  ('bristly  and,  of  course,  lovable  members,  some  of  whom  hava 
fallen  asleep  in  Jesus,  and  others  have  taken,  or  will  take,  their 
places.  May  the>  equal,  and  if  they  can,  through  grace,  excel  those 
who  are  now  before  the  throne.  In  these  brief  notices,  personal 
references  could  not.  well  be  altogether  avoided.  But  1  have  tried 
to  escape  bemg  overmuch  egotistical.  An  exhortation  may  not  be 
expected,  or  fitting,  in  connection  with  these  reminiscences;  but 


my  best  wishes  may  be  acceptable,  for  your  highest  prosperity  and 
usefulness  here,  and  immortal  glory  hereafter.  With  respect  aud 
best  wishes,  your  friend,  DANIEL  D.  TAPPAN. 

Then  was  sung  , the  hymn  ''Jesus  lover  of  my  soul",  af- 
ter which  was  read  the  following  letter  from  Rev.  George  O. 
Jenness : 

CENTRAL  CHURCH,  ATTLEBORO'  FALLS, 

MASS.,  September  17,  1885. 
Rev.  A.  H.  Thompson,  and   the  Congregational  Church  at   Wake- 
field,  N,  H.: 

DEAR  BRETHREN:  I  hoped  to  be  present  at  your  Centennial  not- 
Avithstanding  my  recent  visit  among  you.  But  I  find  it  impossible 
to  arrange  my  affairs  here  so  as  to  avail  myself  of  the  unusual  in- 
terest aud  pleasure  connected  with  so  important  an  occasion.  Aly 
thoughts  and  good  wishes,  however,  will  centre  there  during  the 
day  while  you  are  recounting  the  many  reminiscences  connected 
with  the  past  of  the  dear  old  church  aud  parish.  While  acting  pas- 
tor there  I  remember  preaching  a  sort  of  historical  discourse  at  the 
time  of  our  country's  centennial,  taking  this  text:  "  Behold,  I  have 
graven  thee  on  the  pairns  of  my  hands,  thy  walls  are  continually 
before  me."  (Isaiah  49:16.)  This  promise  still  remains  addressed 
t<>  all  of  God's  little  church  households,  and  while  I  recall  it  now 
and  think  of  your  ranks  being  decimated  Dy  death  and  removals 
from  year  to  year,  I  still  am  filled  with  irany  encouraging  antici- 
pations for  your  future.  Naturally  enough,  at  this  time,  my 
thoughts  also  revert  to  the  many  interesting  and  profitable  seasons 
1  sjient  in  company  of  some  of  those  associated  with  me  in  my  work 
(here.  I  have  vividly  before  my  mind  Good  Father  Barker,  and 
our  beloved  brother  Deacon  Piper.  Since  they  have  both  gyne 
home  t<>  thrir  glorious  reward  I  frequently  recall  the  sweetness  of 
the  fellowship  we  "once  enjoyed".  The  former  was  pleased  to  take 
a  very  fatherly  interest  in  me  and  mine,  and  many  a  word  of  en- 
couragement received  I  from  his  kind  lips.  He  was  always  at  our 
devotional  meetings.  At  the  parsonage,  1  see  him  now  in  the  arm 
chair  we  never  forgot  to  provide  him;  near  the  stove  in  winter,  and 
always  just  at  the  left  of  the  door  of  entrance  into  the  sitting-room. 
His  words  were  ever  edifying  and  deeply  spiritual,  and  I  always 
felt,  if  sickness  prevented  his  presence,  as  if  half  my  support  was 
gone.  Nor  was  he  less  helpful  in  the  Sanctuary.  No  minister  ev- 
er had  a  more  attentive  listener  than  was  lie.  Notwithstanding  his 
age  and  infirmities  I  never  discovered  the  least  indication  of  drow- 
siness during  the  sermon.  In  some  churches  men  sleep  in  sermon 
time  under  the  plea  of  hard  work  all  the  week,  bat  Father  Barker, 


66 

whose  exploits  in  manual  labor  were  prodigious  for  a  man  of  more 
than  fourscore,  never  once  fell  asleep  under  my  preaching.  Of 
course  I  ought  to  say  in  this  connection  that  this  was  all  the  more 
remarkable  since  I  know  that  a  great  deal  of  my  preaching  was  cal- 
culated to  make  one  drowsy.  But,  if  I  were  to  fill  a  book  I  should 
not  exhaust  the  good  things  I  have  it  in  my  heart  to  say  of  that  dear 
good  Father  who  was  such  a  help  and  support  to  me  during  all  my 
ministry  in  Waketield.  Neither  have  I  room  enough  in  this  to  tell 
how  much  I  loved  and  honored  that  venerated  saint,  Deacon  Piper. 
Fast  declined  his  strength  and  gradually  ebbed  away  the  vigor  of 
his  mental  powers  during  the  last  of  mv  stay  in  W.  But  the  beau- 
ty and  fragrance  of  his  Christian  faith  and  love  grew  brighter  and 
sweeter  unto  the  end.  He  used  frequently  to  visit  me  in  the  par- 
bonage.  Always  when  he  came  to  town  meeting  would  he  call. 
Much  delight  have  I  had  in  recalling  those  golden  hours.  Inspir- 
ing were  his  visions  of  truth,  and  the  undaunted  trust  in  God  dis- 
played under  the  contemplation  of  the  approaching  shadows  of  his 
earthly  life,  put  to  shame  many  of  my  weaknesses  and  fears.  After 
interviews  with  him  my  heart  invariably  sighed,  "let  my  departing 
be  like  his".  Bat  I  have  not  time  and  space  to  tell  of  all  the  bless- 
edness I  was  permitted  to  experience  from  my  good  fortune  in 
having  the  firm  friendship  and  support  of  Dea.  Piper.  Of  other 
dear  ones,  I  would  fain  speak  did  time  allow.  Of  Aunt  Lucia 
Dow,  of  the  two  Aunt  Wiggins,  of  Aunt  Lucy  Chesley,  and  otheis 
who  wen- a  blessing  and  help  to  me  and  my  work,  but  now  have 
entered  into  the  blessed  "rest  which  remaineth".  And  it  I  should 
attempt  to  speak  of  the  dear  ones  living  whose  friendship  I  was 
fortunate  enough  to  secure,  time  and  space  would  also  fail  me. 
No  p.ju-.e  on  this  earth  will  ever  be  dearer  to  me  than  Wakefield, 
and  in  all  my  wanderings,  the  truth  compels  me  to  say,  I  have  nev- 
er found  a  spot  where,  if  a  minister  is  what,  he  should  be,  he  is 
more  likely  to  beloved,  appreciated  and  supported.  And  now  as  I 
close,  having  in  my  mind  still  this  glowing  promise  of  Isaiah  as  yet 
applicable  to  you,  let  me  urge  you  to  ever  keep  the  "lights"  an»l 
"fires"  on  the  hill  shining  and  burning  as  of  yore.  Do  your  part 
well  and  God  will  take  care  that  this  promi  se  shall  be  for  you,  your 
children  and  children's  children. 

"All  is  of  God !     If  He  but  wave  His  hand 
The  mists  collect,  the  rainfalls  thick  and  loud, 

Till  with  a  smile  of  light  on  sea  and  land 
Lo!  He  looks  back  from  the  departing  cloud." 

Very  truly  and  affectionately  yours  in  Christ, 

GEO.  O.  JKNNESS. 


61 

Capt.  Nathaniel  Meserve,  an  old  and  respected  citizen, 
and  for  these  many  years  prominent  among  the  Free  Will 
Baptists  of  Wakefield,  being  called  upon  came  forward  say- 
ing he  was  born  in  Ossipee,  and  in  a  few  but  telling  words 
cordially  eulogized  the  native  town  of  his  wife  and  the 
church  of  her  parents,  in  which  she  received  infant  baptism. 
He  paid  a  warm  tribute  to  a  Christian  wife  and  a  Christian 
home.  Rev.  Charles  Dame  of  Acton,  Me.,  was  next  called 
upon  and  gave  the  following  : 

M.R.  PRESIDENT:  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  be  present  on  this  occa- 
sion. It  is  true  I  am  not  a  native  of  Wakefield,  but  the  days  of  my 
childhood  were  passed  in  sight  of  some  portions  of  your  goodly 
town.  In  those  days  Waketield  was  regarded  as  a  vastly  important 
place  by  the  inhabitants  of  Acton  where  I  then  lived.  The  merits 
of  your  physicians  were  not  infrequently  discussed,  the  talents  of 
your  lawyers  were  looked  upon  with  wonder,  your  merchants  were 
noted  for  their  qualities  as  men  of  business.  But  the  man  held  in 
the  highest  esteem,  who  was  the  most  venerated,  whose  name  was 
never  mentioned  but  with  reverence,  was  Parson  Piper.  Compara- 
tively few  knew  him  personally  and  yet  his  name  is  still  reverently 
held  by  the  descendants  of  that  few  and  many  others.  But  that 
which  more  than  all  things  else  drew  my  attention  and  excited  my 
interest  in  ray  youthful  days  was  Dow's  Academy,  in  sight  of  which 
many  a  day  was  passed.  As  from  the  field  of  labor  I  looked  across 
the  "great  East  Pond"  I  gazed  upon  the  academy  building  and  did 
it  with  longing  eyes  that  I  might  enjoy  the  privileges  afforded  by 
this  Academy.  The  sight  of  this  building's  tin  covered  belfry  ex- 
cited desires  which  nought  but  a  lack  of  means  could  suppress. 
Lous'  will  the  memory  of  Dow's  famed  Academy  be  cherished  by 
me,  permitted  as  I  was  to  gaze  upon  it  but  denied  its  privileges.  It 
was  an  honor  to  \Vaketield,  an  honor  to  its  founder  and  a  blessing 
to  many.  Another  event  which  has  been  a  blessing  to  the  town  of 
Wakefield  is  the  long  continued  residence,  the  example  and  influ- 
ence of  Parson  Barker.  I  became  acquainted  with  this  godly  man 
about  the  time  of  my  leaving  college.  A  year  or  two  after  gradua- 
ting and  while  a  member  of  the  Andover  Theological  Seminary  I 
was  spending  one  of  the  Seminary's  vacations  iu  teaching  at  Milton 
Mijls  and  at  the  same  time  conducting  the  Sabbath  service  for  the 
church  at  Acton.  Not  having  been  ordained  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  or  even  licensed  to  preach,  I  could  not  administer  the  or- 
dinances of  the  church,  and  as  the  church  at  Acton  wished  to  have 
the  sacraments  of  the  Lord's  Supper  administered  to  them,  I  ven- 


62 

tured  to  come  to  Wakefield  and  ask  the  good  man  if  he  would  go 
over  to  Acton  and  administer  the  sacrament.  Awe  struck  in  his 
presence  and  with  his  tall  and  venerable  form  towering  above  me, 
I  waited  for  his  reply.  The  reply  came  from  the  exact  and  consci- 
entious man  in  the  form  of  an  objection  to  my  proposal.  "You 
know",  he  said,  "it  is  ugainst  the  rules  of  the  Seminary  for  a  stu- 
dent to  preach  without  a  license,  and  I  would  not  wish  to  do  any- 
thing that  would  cast  disrespect  upon  that  institution  or  to  encour- 
age any  irregularity."  The  goed  man  after  a  few  explanations  and 
with  some  hesitation  consented  to  waive  his  objections  and  admit 
the  young  man  into  his  pulpit.  I  came  with  much  (ear  and  trepida- 
tion to  preach  in  the  pulpit  of  such  an  one  so  strong  in  tiie  faith  and 
so  able  a  man.  But  a*  the  day  pr<»ved  to  be  a  very  rainy  one  and 
consequently  the  audienc'- very  small,  1  saw  there  was  but  little 
chanc.e  for  the  prenc-hing  or  exhortation  of  an  unlicensed  student  to 
do  great  harm,  and  probably  the  Wakefield  church  passed  the  day 
uninjured.  But  the  conscientious  scruples  of  the  good  man  showed 
his  firm  regard  for  law  and  true  and  right  principles. 

Then  came  the  following  letter  of  "Regrets"  from  one  of 
the  former  lawyers  of  Waketield,  Charles  Chesley,  Esq., 
wliich  struck  a  vein  of  musing  that  fitted  well  into  the  occa- 
sion and  the  closing  hour  : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.  / 
September  12,  1885.  $ 

Rev.  A.  H.  THOMPSON. 

DEAR  SIR:  1  have  received  your  letter  of  the  9th 
instant,  by  which  I  am  informed  that,  on  the  22nd  instant,  the  peo- 
ple propose  to  observe  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Or- 
ganization of  the  First  Church  in  Wakefield  by  a  Council  called 
by  the  Town.  You  express  a  wish  to  see  me  and  my  family  there 
at  that  time,  and  inquire  if  it  would  not  be  agreeable  to  me  to  fur- 
nish something  in  writing  for  the  occasion,  if  I  cannot  be  present; 
something,  for  instance,  concerning  the  schools  or  the  lawyers  of 
Wakefield.  It  would  afford  rne  and  my  family  unbounded  pleas- 
ure to  be  present  on  the  occasion  named.  Wakefield  is  the  "Sweet 
Auburn"  to  which  "my  heart,  untravelled,  fondly  turns."  It  was 
there  I  spent  my  earliest  and  happiest  days,  and  there  I  pxpect  to 
sleep  at  last.  Memories  of  a  careless  boyhood  and  of  early  man- 
hood; memories  of  the  old  academy-room,  with  the  mellow  autumn 
sunlight  streaming  through  its  broad  southern  windows  upou  busy 
Miipils.  all  happy  and  free  from  care  like  myself;  memories  of  the 
church,  wherein  I  listened,  not  too  attentively,  to  words  of  instruc- 
tion and  advice,  both  sincere  and  sound;  memories  of  the  choir, 


63 

of  which  I  myself  was  an  inglorious  member,  and  of  its  weekly 
meetings,  with  the  sweet  harmony  of  simple  music  and  the  sweeter 
harmony  of  social  intercourse;  memories  of  the  rugged  hills,  the 
fertile  valleys,  the  noisy  brooks,  the  crystal  ponds  and  the  low  rus- 
tle of  waving  corn  heavy  with  dew;  memories  of  the  sacred  grounds 
where  lie  so  many  of  those  dearest;  these,  and  a  thousand  other  ten- 
der memories  arise,  even  now  as  I  write,  and  the  scenes  and  asso- 
ciations of  my  young  days  come  back  to  me,  like  the  sweet  strains 
of  smne  half-forgotten  melody. 

But  duties,  official  and  unofficial,  require  my  presence  here;  and 
their  pressure  upon  me  will  prevent  my  writing  anything  you 
would  wish  to  read  or  that  I  should  be  willing  to  have  read;  for, 
on  such  an  occasion,  one  should,  ordinarily,  give  his  best  or  noth- 
ing. I  thank  you  for  thinking  of  me  and  mine  in  this  connection ; 
but,  for  the  reason  already  assigned,  1  can  send  nothing  to  your 
centennial  meeting  but  our  kind  remembrances  and  best  wishes. 
Faithfully  yours, 

CHARLES  CHESLEY. 

In  a  like  vein  Rev.  A.  H.  Thompson  continued  and  also 
gave  the  farewell  words: 

Thus,  as  we  sit  at  this  twilight  hour  in  the  dimly  lighted 
sanctuary  with  the  memories  of  those  olden  days  crowding 
in  upon  us,  we  are  living  in  the  past.  Soon  we  shall  be  call- 
ed back  to  the  present ;  and  in  its  duties  find  our  chief  de- 
light— with  joyous  hope  of  the  future  because  of  the  guid- 
ing hand  of  Him  who  has  guided  this  church  this  hundred 
years.  We  shall  not  sit  long  by  the  ashes  of  the  gone  out 
fire.  The  light  of  this  day  is  waning.  The  twilight  deep- 
ens. May  the  day  of  our  life  be  full  of  light ;  and  when  its 
eventide  shall  come  and  the  night  of  death,  may  it  be  fol- 
lowed by  that  day  without  end, — of  brightness  and  of  joy — 
in  the  Church  of  the  redeemed  in  Heaven. 

The  people  arose  and  joined  their  voices  in  the  song  of 
"Auld  Lang  Syne" ;  then  received  the  benediction  from  the 
lips  of  the  Pastor,  and  the  SECOND  Century  was  begun. 


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